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The 5 Most Important Guitar Chords

Andrew Clarke  /  Lessons UPDATED Nov 2, 2022

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In this guitar lesson, we’ll be diving into the five most important chords you’ll learn on the guitar. We’ll also talk a bit about why they’re superior to the other chords you’ll learn. As we go through this lesson, we’ll cover the ways to make each chord and also the notes in each chord. So whether you’re a beginner or an intermediate player you’ll be sure to learn something from this video.

The reason these chords are so important is that every chord you’ll learn down the road is based on one of these five shapes. So these shapes will continue to work for you for years to come. The system that these shapes are a part of is called the CAGED System – heard of it before? It’s an excellent way to navigate the fretboard and have a deeper understanding of this instrument we all love!

The focus of this lesson is on learning and understanding the chords on a basic level, so if you want a full-on guide to the CAGED System, check it out here: A Guide To The CAGED System On Guitar

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The 5 chords we’ll look at are the C major, A major, G major, E major, and D major. The reason we use all major chords is that the minor versions of any of these chords just require tiny adjustments. Each one of those minor chords is completely based on its major counterpart. Here are all the chord diagrams for the major chords.

Major chords are made up of just three notes: the root, a major third, and a fifth. Any other notes are just repetitions of the same three notes. If you want to gain a deeper understanding of how both major and minor chords are made as well as other types of beginner chords, check out our full guide here: How Beginner Guitar Chords Are Made

If you take the time to get these chords under your belt you’ll gain a huge advantage over other players. It’ll make learning everything else in the future much easier! If you’re interested in learning more chords for beginner guitarists, then you should check out our next video.

8 Beginner Guitar Chords You Should Know

In this guitar lesson, Ayla Tesler-Mabe goes over the eight most important guitar chords for new guitar players to learn. These chords are used in many of your favorite songs and are also a great place to start if you want to write your own music! 

Download the chord chart for this lesson here: Chord Chart

What’s next?

The chords covered in this video are E major, E minor, A Major, D Major, C Major, C Major7, G Major, and a “special” G major chord. Check out the video for the full breakdown. If you’re pining for even more chords, get stuck into Ayla’s 5 Most Beautiful Beginner Guitar Chords.

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