E Chord Guitar
In today’s free guitar lesson, I will teach you how to play the E chord. The E chord is one of the most popular guitar chords in the world. It’s used in popular guitar chord progressions, and the E chord appears in hundreds—if not thousands—of songs.
Guitar Chords for Beginners
The E chord is perfect for beginners because it’s easy to play, and it sounds great! Once you know the E major chord, you can easily convert it to the E minor chord by lowering the chord’s third degree by a half-step. Don’t worry; it sounds more complicated than it is. Just lift your pointer finger and play the open G string while fingering the rest of the E chord. Voila! You just learned two chords for the price of one! Please take a look at the guitar chord diagram to see how it’s done.
How to Learn Guitar Chords for Beginners
- Go Slow: I know it sounds counterintuitive, but the fastest way to learn how to play the guitar is slowing down. At Berklee College of Music, my professor told me, “On guitar, fast is slow, and slow is fast.” That means setting a metronome for a slow, comfortable speed like 60 BPM and playing whole notes on the E chord or any other guitar chords for beginners until you can play it smoothly and evenly.
- Sound Check: Once you can finger the chord, take the time to make sure each note is ringing out clearly. Inevitably, you will discover some notes are ringing out beautifully, and other notes are not ringing out at all. Don’t sweat it! It’s all part of the process, and every great guitarist went through the same process. Just take your time, isolate the problem, and fix it. Then, repeat it again and again and again.
- Avoid Learning Too Many Chords at Once: This goes back to point number one: go slow. When you’re just getting started tackling the E chord or any other guitar chord for beginners, tackle one or two chords at a time. This will help you build small wins. The more small wins you can build, the better you will feel about your guitar progress.
- Connect the E Chord with Other Chords You Already Know: It’s not what you know, but what you can do with you know that separates the good players from the great players. For that reason, you want to connect every new chord you know with all the other chords you already know. Not only is this is a great way to internalize new chords, but it’s also fun and creative.
- Connect the E Chord with Songs You Know and Love: As I mentioned initially, the E chord appears in hundreds or even thousands of popular songs. Once you’re comfortable with the E chord, it’s time to put it to use by learning some popular songs. “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones is a great place to start!
FREE Kids Guitar Lessons
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