When looking at how to teach guitar what are the best chords for a beginner to learn?
The best guitar chords for a beginner to learn are C, A, G, E, D, Am, Dm and Em
Why are they the best chords to learn first?
I know I am making a bold statement that the eight chord shapes shown above are the best ones for a beginner to learn and since you don't know me from Adam I reckon I'd better back that up fairly quickly before you head off somewhere else
The best guitar teachers all over the world use these chords
I'm only presenting you with the information and as much as I'd love to take credit for coming up with that particular combination of shapes the truth is that the chords above are the chords that the best guitar teachers use (and have been using for decades) to get their students to play as well as is possible during the early stages of learning to play
They are also the chords used by the folks who make a living by dishing out qualifications on the guitar so if you decide to use a whole bunch of other chords when teaching beginners to play then thats up to you but you will be swimming against the tide on that one
"Guitar Friendly Keys"
Without going too much into the elements of music theory attatched to playing guitar the reason that the best teachers use the chords is that they allow students to get used to operating in two of the most "guitar friendly" keys (G and A)
"When somebody who has never touched a guitar before learns to move smoothly between the eight chords shown above in time to music then they are a guitar player and its as simple as that!"
Quick Link
Why Guitar Teachers Use The Key Of G with Beginners
Playing Songs and chord progressions in the key Of G
Every key has chords that are important to it and it just so happens that five of the six "important" chords in the key of G can be played without having to press more than one string down on the neck with a single finger
This is why the best guitar teachers use the chords that can be found in the key of G to introduce folks to playing the guitar
On the right of the graphic above you can see one of our worksheets/teaching aids from our guitar music theory resources that are part of the $25.00 "Deluxe Download"
The word "diatonic" in the title of the worksheet refers to "Diatonic Harmony" and the fact that all of the chords in the key of G are constructed fro the G Major Scale (the notes are G A B C D E and F sharp)
It should be stressed that when teaching beginners to move smoothly between the first eight beginner's chords there is no need to engage them (yet!) in the study of music theory
Below is a graphic that looks at the key of G
Six of the chords commonly found in the key of G are on the list of eight easy chord shapes that every beginner should learn first and there is even a "cheat" if chord III (Bm) is required to play a song or chord progression
For a more detailed explanation of why the chords work together you could visit my guitar music theory explained page
Here's a short video I have up there on youtube that looks at a series of guitar lessons using the eight "best" beginners chords on the handout.....
How To Teach Guitar Using The Best Beginners Chord Shapes
Or you could just go straight to the lesson pages and download the free lesson plans
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