For questions or comments you can email me (Bob) here.


BOB EGAN'S - 30 MINUTE, 150-STEP GUITAR METHOD - 100% FREE


LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE CHORDS
TO PRACTICALLY EVERY SONG EVER WRITTEN. . .

• including ROCK, FOLK, BLUES, COUNTY, and SHOW TUNES

• in LESS THAN 30 MINUTES, including LEARNING BAR CHORDS.


This may be THE EASIEST AND FASTEST
BAR CHORD GUITAR COURSE EVER CREATED.

. . .AND IT'S COMPLETELY FREE! 24/7
. . .FOR ANYONE ON EARTH -
. . .ANY PLACE THERE'S A KID IN A ROOM NEXT TO A COMPUTER
WITH A GUITAR WITH A DREAM TO ROCK
. . .OR AN ADULT WHO JUST NEVER GOT AROUND
TO IT, BUT WHO IS STILL READY TO ROLL


It is designed to teach you HOW TO PLAY
GUITAR - INCLUDING BAR CHORDS
- in the
shortest amount of time possible.


I've broken the "course" into 150 EASY STEPS with EACH STEP TAKING LESS THAN 5 SECONDS TO DO.
By learning each step - in order, your fingers will not get tired.



The 150 STEPS are broken into 9 two-minute videos
so you can practice section-by-section at your own pace
as you learn. They look like this on YouTube:



But first, I've combined all those videos into ONE 15-MINUTE VIDEO,
called "FROM BEGINNER TO BAR CHORDS" showing you,
in order, all the 150 steps you will be learning, so you will be
familiar as to where each step is taking you.


THE 150 STEPS ARE BASICALLY DIVIDED INTO 3 SECTIONS:


1) LEARNING THE OPEN CHORDS.

2) LEARNING THE TWO MAIN BAR CHORDS (A and D at the 5th fret).

3) LEARNING THE OTHER BAR CHORDS ON THE NECK.


If you are a beginner, start by learning the 16 main OPEN CHORDS, but concentrate on first learning the A, D, and E. Those three are the easiest and can be learned under 30 minutes on a guitar with thin strings. Then go to the list of 3 CHORD SONGS (here) and play songs with these chords: ADE, DEA, EAD.

If you already know how to play open chords, you can start by learning to play the A and D bar chords on the 5th fret. After that, play the E bar chord on the 7th fret. It should take you less than 30 minutes. Then go to the list of 3 CHORD SONGS (here) and play songs with these chords: ADE, DEA, EAD.

In either case, you should be able to be playing 3 chord songs in under 30 minutes.


We'll get to the video soon but first, I'd like to explain a little background about this learning method that I've worked many years to make as easy as possible.


Why does this method work better than other methods?


1) FIRST, the most important point is that you should use an ELECTRIC GUITAR WITH THIN STRINGS. You don't have to play loud. I don't even recommend plugging in while you learn. (But when you finally do, you will be AMAZED at how good you sound.)


Learning on an electric guitar with thin strings is at least 25 TIMES EASIER than learning with an acoustic guitar. If you've never played an ELECTRIC GUITAR WITH THIN STRINGS, go to a guitar store and play one. You will feel how easy it is on your fingers. It makes learning easy.


Electric Guitar strings are thinner than acoustic strings and easier to bend.

Comparison of typical Electric vs Acoustic Guitar stings.



Of course, this course works the same with an acoustic guitar, but learning on an acoustic will tire your fingers faster, take longer, and may make you want to give up. So why risk that?


2) SECONDLY, this course is designed to "TRICK" YOUR FINGER MUSCLES into playing bar chords easily. This is done through the step-by-step process. If you follow my method step-by-step, you can easily learn how to play the two main bar chords (A and D on the 5th fret) which are the keystones to learning all the other chords.

This is the point where most people give up learning the guitar. You won't! You'll will break on through to the other side.



3) THE THIRD KEY POINT I want to make is that virtually ALL THE LYRICS AND CHORDS TO MILLIONS OF SONGS ARE AVAILABLE FREE ON THE INTERNET.

You just search for "SONG NAME plus the word CHORDS." You will get the chords and lyrics to most every song. Because of this, you can practice on your favorite songs, which make learning the guitar all the more easy and fun.

Example: a search for the chords to "Life in the Fast Lane."


You can also click to THIS SITE'S COMPANION WEBSITE: "BOB EGAN'S MOST EXCELLENT 3-CHORD and 4-CHORD SONGS" on which I list hundreds of easy 3-chord, and 4-chord songs for beginners (along with many other songs). (The link is in the left ligation.)


SO LET'S START, ALREADY!

In this video I will take you through the 150 steps you will need to know. Then, afterwards, you can watch the shorter videos and practice each step in turn. I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT. Go for it.


WATCH THIS VIDEO FIRST. IT CONTAINS ALL THE 9 SHORTER VIDEOS IN ORDER.


Now that you have seen the video, I suggest you read through this BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS before practicing the 150-steps. It's good background for the steps you will be taking.



HOWEVER IF YOU WANT TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE 150 STEPS IN DIAGRAM FORM, Click here.



A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS:


There are 7 MAIN NOTES in music: A, B C, D, E, F, and G. That means there are also SEVEN MAIN CHORDS in music: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.


What are chords?

Chords are the backbone of music. In general, a chord is THREE OR MORE NOTES played at the same time, that sound pleasing together. For example, a c-chord in a piano or guitar is made from the notes C, E, and G. (see the illustration below)




Most songs consist of a repeating a progression (i.e. pattern) of chords playing in the background while the singer sings the lyrics over them. For example, a song may have the chords E, D, and A played over and over again in the background.

The singer sings the lyrics in a "melody" the notes of which are basically harmonious with the chords beneath them.



Some songs don't have lyrics. For example; a song in which the chords are played on a piano in the background while a flute plays the melody in the foreground.

Piano players sometimes play the chords with their left hand and the the melody with their right.


You can find the CHORDS and LYRICS to most songs on the Internet. Just type in the name of the song you want, plus the world "chords." For "Let It Be" it would be "let it be chords" (without the quotes.)

The letters of the chords you should play are written over the lyrics in a song when they should be played. Here's an example:


Song: "The House of the Rising Sun"


(source: Ultimate_Guitar.com)


In the following picture, I drew little boxes that show how long the sound lasts with each chord you play, whether on a piano or guitar. The sound is usually a little louder at first, then goes down before the next chord is played. (In this particular song, you don't play the first chord until you sing the word "is.")




Each chord also four main variations: a MINOR, a 7th, a FLAT, and a SHARP.

Once you know how to make the chords, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, the 4 variations are rather simple to make, as they follow formulas:

On a guitar, once you've made a bar chord, to make a minor or a 7th just means moving a finger; to make a flat you move the bar down one fret; to make a sharp you simply move the bar up one fret. Very simple.


So, if there are 7 main chords (A,B,C,D,F, AND G) and 5 types of chords (major, minor, 7th, flat, and sharp), then that would seem that you should know how to play 35 (5x7) different chords.

But in reality, because people don't like to write complex songs, most songs are played with just about 16 chords.


This is a chart of those chords:



OPEN CHORDS and BAR CHORDS

There are two different places to play chords on a guitar: at THE END (of the neck). And on THE NECK (i.e. fretboard). Chords played on the end are called OPEN chords, because of the strings are played "open" - meaning with no fingers pressing on them. Most chords played on the neck are called BAR (or Barre) CHORDS.

(Bar is the Americanized version of the French word "barre." But since it takes up less space and I want the instruction to be easy to read by people reading English-as-a-second-language. I'm using it.)


As you can see here, most of the "most commonly played" chords can be played as open chords.


OPEN CHORDS

Of the 7 main chords (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G), it's easy to form 5 of them at the end: These are the A, C, E, D, and G chords (NOT the B and F chords). EACH IS PLAYED WITH JUST THREE FINGERS.




THE B AND THE F CHORDS

The B and the F chords are harder to play at the end, because they can't be effectively played with three fingers.

So, to play them, we use Bar Chords, which are played on the neck of the guitar. (Each can be played in two position on the neck, but for now we will focus on the ones played near where the "open" chords are played.)




The problem is that the B and the F bar chords are a little awkward to make at first. And they often hurt your hands and fingers when you try to form them.

That's why this Guitar Method take a gradual approach toward the goal of playing those two chords.


The "ALT-E" and the "ALT-A"

First. you will learn how to play 2 "ALT" chords at the end of the guitar. These are 2nd versions of the normal A and E chords, but played with your last three fingers instead of your first three fingers. This is really simple.




Then, we will move those chords up to the middle of the neck and learn to play the A and the D bar chords where the strings have more "give" and are easier to press into the frets.

Once we have learned them, we will move along the neck and play the B and the F bar chord.


THE BAR CHORD APPROACH



We will do it in a simple step-by-step method that won't tire your hands.


Q: WHY BAR CHORDS?: If I can play most of the songs with "open chords" at the end, why should I learn Bar chords?"

A: Because it allows you to play dozens of chord combinations in seconds practically without thinking.

To play an A#min (A-sharp minor) as an "open" chord , you would have to get a diagram of the chord and memorize it.



With bar chords, once you know the names of the different frets on the neck (which doesn't take long), you can play the variations of any notes - minors, 7th, flat, and sharps - instantly.

Let me give you an example:

This is an "A" bar chord. It uses an "alt-e" on the 5th fret. It could also be described as "an e-based bar chord on the 5th fret."



These are two variations of that chord: the A minor and the A7th. In each case, to make the chord, you only have to pull one finger up off the neck.



These are two other variations of that chord: the A flat (Ab) and the A sharp (A#). In each case, to make the new chord, you only have to move the same chord up or down the neck. For a "flat" you move the chord down. For a "sharp" you move up.



So, by knowing how to make the A bar chord, just by either moving just one or two fingers, or by moving the bar up or down one fret, you can instantly also play these chords:

A7 (A seventh)
Am (A minor)
Ab (A flat)
A# (a sharp)
. . . . .
Ab7 (A flat seventh)
Abm (A flat minor)
. . . . .
A#7 (A sharp seventh)
A#m (A sharp minor)


So by moving the A-bar you made up and down the neck you can make all these chords, pretty much instantly.



In the same way, by moving the D-bar up and down the neck you can make all these chords.



That's the main reason you should learn bar chords - it's puts many many chords at your fingertips fast.

This is a chart of the 16 most used chords. With exceptions, each chord can be played as an OPEN CHORD, and E-BASED CHORD, and and A-BASED CHORD.

By knowing these chords "three ways' you can be flexible in the way you play songs. For some songs you may want the louder sound of the open chords. But if you have to do a lot of chord changes you may want to stay on the neck.


THE THREE MAIN WAYS TO PLAY THE 16 TOP CHORDS



After you play bar chords for a while you will see the following chart instinctively as you play. The chords on the bottom, beginning with F, are the primary E-based bar chords that you will use most.

The chords on the top follow the same pattern, but are 4 "steps" up from the bottom chords. This next picture will explain this in more detail..



THE 1-4-5 PROGRESSION


A large percentage of the songs that you play will feature a 1-4-5 progression, which is the primary progression of the blues, folk, and rock. For this reason it's good for you to know how to how to play a 1-4-5 progression in as many ways as possible.


So in the charts below, I'll show you how to make a 1-4-5 in . . .

1) Open chords (they are listed on the right in vertical row),
2) Bar chords - horizontally up the neck, either e-based or a-based,
3) Using an E-based bar chord with two A-Base bar chords in an "L" shape.


The 1-4-5 progression is based on whole notes of the scale. It means from whatever the chords is that you start the progression from, you go up 4 whole notes to the next note than one whole note above that to the 5th note.

That's confusing enough, but it get more confusing because there no key between the B and C and E and the F. So if you start at C and go up 4 (whole notes), that would be C-D-E-F. But if you start at F and go up 4 notes, i.e. F-G-A-B the B isn't the 4th, the B-flat is.


So it's easier to know them visually, rather than notationally, since they get confusing.

So a 1-4-5- progression in terms of guitar frets, is really a 1-5-7 progression. You'll see how this works below.




The chart below shows you how to play 1-4-5 songs along the neck using both and E-based chord and two a-based chords. This way your hands don't have to move around a much because most of your playing is in a small area.

Also, if you are playing in the F-Bb-C pattern (i.e. Key of F) and the lead singer says, "let's play it in the key of "A," you can just move your bar up to the "A" and follow the same L- shaped pattern and the song will sound the same, but in a higher key."





Now, there here's one other musical concept I'd like to explain to you, because if you understand the concept, it will make your life in bar chords easier. It's also good stuff to know if you want to write songs.



What I want to explain to you sounds like a phone number: 221-2221. You can remember it as a phone number, too. 221-2221.

It's the key to understanding what a 1-4-5 song means - and you will be playing thousands of these in the future.

221-2221 and 1-4-5 - These NUMBER CODES are shortcuts musicians use when talking about "chord progressions" and "keys" in the songs they play. Take 5 minutes to read about them and you will be way ahead of the game.


To illustrate we're going to look at the most popular chord progression. It's called a "1-4-5 Progression." (It's often written in Roman Numerals, but it's easier to explain using modern numbers.


The note of a musical scale are easier to discuss using a piano, so I'm going to start there.

This is a harp.



If you turned the harp sideways and put it in a box similarly shaped box, you've basically made the inside of a piano.

Each string is evenly spaced, and the notes go higher as you play them.



If you made a keyboard, for it, it would look like this: a lot of equal-sized keys next to each other.



Over time, musicians developed a scale of notes that sounded pleasing one after the other. We know them as Do- Re- Me- Fa- So- La- Ti- Do.


But to make that melodic scale, the notes didn't progress one string after another. Some notes were skipped. The scale sounded best when the keys were played in this order: 221-2221, meaning, after hitting the first note, hit the next one two to the right, then two to the right again, then one to the right of it, etc. using the pattern 221-2221.

Here's what that looked like on a keyboard:



Here it is showing the 221-2221 relationship.



But that keyboard would have been way too wide. So they took the white keys they skipped and made them into black keys, and put them in between the white keys. Now to play 221-2221 (in the key of C) you just play one white note after another.


The black keys are either flats (back one key) or sharps (forward one key) of the white keys.)



Musicians, in order to simplify writing down chord progressions, gave numbers to the white keys: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. (As the red letters show, there are actually 12 notes in the scale if you include the sharps/flats, but the notation system is based on the white keys, because they follow the 221-2221 formula.)




So, for example, a song with the chords C, F, and G, would be called a 1-4-5 song.


And if the song had 4 chords, like C, F, G, and Am - they would call it 1-4-5-6m song.


Now, the reason this comes in hand for guitarists goes back to the 1-4-5 illustration that we saw before.



Let's say someone writes a song with the chords C, F, and G, which would have a 1-4-5 pattern. If you think it would be easier to play with bar chords in the middle of the neck, you can play it as an A-D-E because all you are doing is moving the same shape down the neck. The audience probably won't notice the difference.

Or let's say a singer sings all her best songs in the key of "G." Once you know the numerical chord progression formula of any song she's going to sing, whether it's 1-4-5, or 1-6-4, 1-6m-5-4 , as long as you know where the "G" is, you can play the numerical pattern without even having to think about which other notes you are playing.


Here's something else which will make your life easier.

Remember this illustration: It showed the 221-2221 formula that made the "scale" of music.



If we labelled those notes, and filled in what would be the black keys on the keyboard (before they squeezed them between the white keys), it would look like this.



Do you see in this picture below how the piano notes compare to the notes on a guitar neck. They are practically the same, except that a piano scale usually "starts" with a "C" and a guitar starts with an 'E."




Finally, this photo shows the "do-re-me" scale for the key of E. Whereas the key of C was all whole notes (CDEFGABC), here the 221-2221 formula falls on a lot of flats and sharps.

The notes of the E scale would be hard to remember, but if you started at the E at the end - if you just played the bar chords in the pattern 221-2221 - you would play the scale of the Key of E.

So knowing this pattern, will help you later as you get further into bar chords.




AN EXAMPLE OF KEY TRANSFORMATION: "This Little Light of Mine"


In the example below, I am going to show you what one song looks like in 7 different keys.

If you were sitting across the room from the guitarist as the guitarist played, the song would sound pretty much the same no matter what key the guitarist was playing in, except there would be small variations understood by professionals.

In this case, I found the chords to this song on the Internet in the key of G.

The key is usually the name of the first chord. That's because most songs start at one place (the key) and often wind up in the the same place (the key) so the overall effect is that the songs is in that key, even though it may change keys throughout.

After I found the chords, I then used the "TRANSPOSE TOOL" on the chord webpage to change the song to different keys. The change is done in half-steps. From F to F# to G, etc. When you change the first note, it changes all the others chords the same number of half steps.


















STARTING TO PRACTICE AFTER YOU HAVE SEEN THE VIDEOS

Learning the guitar can really be divided into 2 parts: 1) Learning the open chords, then; 2) learning the bar chords

In really; it would be better to learn chords the other way around because, through bar chords, you can see the relationship of chords better; but this is the way it is so let's go for it.

Practicing anything is boring, and guitar is no difference. But what I've tried to to below is to get your fingers accustomed to changing, first, between two chords; and then, I added I added a third chord along with an easily recognized song to play, so you can see that your practicing is taking you somewhere.



PRACTICING THE END CHORDS

Theses are chord combinations that get you accustomed to changing between chords. Just go from one to the other. Start with 2 chord changes, then work your way to 3, 4, and 5.

In addition, you can make up your own rhythms as you play them. As you play, you may recognize many songs that incorporate these "changes."


2 CHORDS


A to D
A to C
A to E
A to G


C to A
C to D
C to E
C to G

D to A
D to C
D to E
D to G

E to A
E to C
E to D
E to G

G to A
G to C
G to D
G to E

After you've practiced 2 chord combinations, you can practice 3 chord combinations. The easiest and most fun way is to practice songs you know with these chords, because you can get a rhythm going and sing along.

So I've put some of the easiest songs to play with different 3 chord combinations below. For those about rock, I salute you!


A to D
////////// A, D, C - Slow Ride (Foghat)
////////// A, D, E - Wild Thing (The Troggs)
////////// A, D, E - Gimme Three Steps (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
////////// A, D, E, - Rock and Roll All Night (Kiss)
////////// A, D, E - Sumertimes Blues (Edie Cochran/The Who)
////////// A, D, Em - Louie Louie (The Kingsmen)
////////// A, D, E7 - The Hanky Panky (Tommy James and the Shondells)
////////// A, D, G - Twist and Shout (The Beatles)
A to C
////////// A, C, G, D - Fly Away (Lenny Kravitz)
A to E
////////// A, E, D - Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)
A to G
////////// A, G, C - SIster Ray (Velvet Underground)


C to A
////////// C, A,E - I'm So Bored with the U.S.A. (The Clash)
////////// C, Am, D, G - House of the Rising Sun (The Animals)
C to D
////////// C, D, C - Give Peace a Chance (John Lennon)
////////// C, D, Em, G - Round Here (Counting Crows)
C to E
////////// C, Em, D - Times Like These (Foo Fighters)
C to G
////////// C, G, D - Free Falling (Tom Petty)

D to A
////////// D, A, E - Gimme Three Steps (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
////////// D, A, E - With a Little Help from My Friends (Beatles/Joe Cocker)
////////// D, A, G - Vicious (Lou Reed)
////////// D, A, G - Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
////////// D, A, G - Baba O"Reilly (The Who)
////////// D, A, G - Never Seen Nothing Like You (XXXXXX)
////////// D, G, A - Good Lovin' (The Rascals)
////////// D, G, A - Twist and Shout (The Beatles)
////////// D, G, A - The Authority Song (John Mellencamp)
D to C
////////// D, C, G - Sweet Home Alabama (Leynrd Skynrd)
////////// D, C, G - Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones)
D to E
D to G
////////// D, G - Roadrunner (Jonathan Richman)
////////// D, G - Heroin (Lou Reed)
////////// D, G - What I Got (Sublime)

E to A
////////// E, A, B - Shelter From The Storm (Bob Dylan)
////////// E, A, B - Hang On Sloopy (The McCoys)
////////// E, A, D, A That's What I Like About You (The Romantics)
////////// E, A, D, A - Rock in the U. S. A. (John Mellencamp)
////////// E, A, G - I'm A Man (Muddy Water)
E to C
E to D
////////// E, D, A - Gloria (Shadows of Night)
////////// E, D, A - Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones)
////////// E, D, A - Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
////////// E, D, G - Running Down a Dream (Tom Petty)
E to G
////////// E, G, A - Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)
////////// Em, G, D - Locomotive Breath (intro) (Jethro Tull)
////////// Em,G, D, C - Hello (Adele)

G to A
////////// G, A, E Born to Be Wild (Steppenwolf)
////////// G, A, D - All You Need is Love (Beatles)
G to C
////////// G, C, D - Summetime Blues (The Who)
////////// G, C, D - Hang On Sloopy (The McCoys
////////// G, C, Am, D - Runaway (Blues Traveler)
G to D
////////// G, D, Am - Knocking' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan)
////////// G, D, C - Jack and Diane (John Mellencamp)
////////// G, D, C - We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister)
////////// G, D, Em, C - With or Without You (U2)
G to E
////////// G, Em, C, D - Stay (Jackson Browne)
////////// G, Em, C, D - Last Kiss (Pearl Jam)
////////// G, Em, C, D - Looking Out My Back Door (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
////////// G, Em, C, D - Every Breath You Take (Police)
////////// G, Em, C, D - Silhouettes (The Diamonds/Herman's Hermits)

3 CHORDS


I've listed below the 3-chord and 4-chord combination that seem to be most popular in rock music. so it will not hurt in you knowing how to play these chord combinations.

In addition, if you want to write your own songs, I suggest you start with any of these as your background progressions. Remember, you don't have to reinvent the wheel to write a song. There have been hits with all these chord progressions in every decade since 1950. That means 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010.

There's no copyright on chords, only melodies. So as long as your song doesn't sound the same, you can use any of these combinations of chords.


CDG
CGD


ADF
AGD
AED
ADG

GDC
GCD

ADE
AED
ADG
AGD

DAG
DGA
DAE
DEA
DCG
DGC


4 and 5 CHORDS

ADGA
ACDE
AECDE


AmFGAm

GEmCD

EDAG
EAGC
EDACG

EmGDA
EmDAG
EmAmC
EmDCG









THE 150 STEPS - OF THE VIDEO - ILLUSTRATED


We now come to the heart of this website: the 150 steps that will give you a small mastery over your ax.

It may sound like a lot, but I went through all 150 in about 12 minutes in the opening video.

I could have tried to cut this down to 100 or 50 steps, but I feel that it takes 150 steps to cover all the bases adequately and give you the best feel for bar chords and understand where all the chords are on the neck.

In fact, the entire last 1/3 of this is just getting you to practice three-chord songs by alternating between e-based and a-based chords; and also learning 4 chord songs by playing "boxes" on the fretboard.

This is what the pros do and I want to to take you to their doorstep. The rest is practice.


But the most important part of all of this is the section where you make your first bar chord. I've tried to make it easy as possible, by gradually - almost through trickery - building your finger muscles so they are strong enough to press down on the 6 frets at the same time.

This is the spot where most people give up. Don't you. It's really not that hard. All of a sudden, after a little practice you get it and you can do it. Like riding a bike, or learning to swim, or parallel parking. Suddenly you can do it. And once done, you will never lose it . . .and then there are glorious guitar days ahead. So, good luck, future rock stars of the world.



SECTION 1: OPEN CHORDS: THE 14 MOST-PLAYED OPEN CHORDS:

(The video will be followed by diagrams showing how to make all the chords.)


Video #2: The video for steps 1-19: The 14 Most-Played Open Chords.



You will be amazed at how quickly you can form these basic chords with your fingers by learning them on an electric guitar with thin strings. .

The point is NOT TO GET HUNG UP ON THESE CHORDS. Form them once, strum them a few times, then move one. You can come back and practice them later, They will be easier to play once your fingers are used to playing bar chords.

Several chords are repeated. I did this in order for you to see how closely they are related to their minor and 7th variations which follow.

One last thing. You don't have to understand 100% what a minor (m) or a seventh (7th) or a Flat (b) or a sharp (#) is. Just play them. These variations will all make sense after you play the bar chords.


Video #2.5: The Open Chords from the player's perspective above the neck.

This video is the same as the one above it, but shows the fingerings of the chords in close-up from above.





. . . . . . . . . .The 5 main chords to know. (We will play the B and F with bar chords).

1) A


2) D


3) E


4) C


5) G



. . . . . . . . . .The 2 most played variations of an A chord: the Am (A minor) and the A7 (A seventh).

6) A


7) Am


8) A7



. . . . . . . . . .The 2 most played variations of an E chord: The Em (E minor) and the E7 (E seventh).

9) E


10) Em


11) E7



. . . . . . . . . .The 2 most played variations of a D chord: the Dm (D minor) and the D7 (D seventh).

12) D


13) Dm


14) D7



. . . . . . . . . .The 1 most played variation of a C chord: the C7 (C seventh).

15) C


16) C7



. . . . . . . . . .The 1 most played variation of a G chord: the G7 (G seventh).

17) G


18) G7



. . . . . . . . . .The B7 (B seventh) chord. This is the trickiest of all the open chords to play. Try it. Don't worry if it's too hard. Just move on. By the time you've learned bar chords and then come back to this, your finger and brain can handle it better.

19) B7







SECTION 2: ALT E and ALT A: . . . . . . . . . . The First Steps to Bar Chords.

Alt stands for alternative. Alts are played in a different (i.e. alternative) way than the regular E and A. The E is played using your last three fingers. The A is played with your ring finger, though we will practice first with your index finger.


Video #3: The video for steps 20-31: The Alt E and Alt A chords.



. . . . . . . . . .The Alt E.

20) Alt E (last 3 fingers)

21) Alt E (6th fret)

22) Alt E to Alt E (6th fret) and back (play 3 times)


. . . . . . . . . .The Alt A.

23) Alt A (index finger)

24) Alt A (index finger) at 7th fret

25) Alt A (index) to Alt A (index) 7th fret and back (play 3 times)

26) Alt A (ring finger)

27) Alt A (ring) at 7th fret

28) Alt A to Alt A (7th fret) and back (play 3 times).


. . . . . . . . . .This is an exercise to prepare your finger movements for shifting bar chords.

29) Alt E (6th fret)

30) Alt A (7th fret) (ring finger)

31) Alt E (6th fret) to Alt A (7th fret) and back (play 3 times).





SECTION 3: BAR D and BAR A (both at the 5th fret):. . . . . . . . . .The Gateway Chords to the Other Bar Chords


These are what I call the KEYSTONE bar chords. They are the easiest to play because of the position on the keyboard (for your wrists) and because they are in the middle of the strings where the strings bend easiest.


Video #4: The video for steps 32-47 : The Bar A chord and the Bar D chord. . . . . . . . . . The Gateway Chords to the Other Bar Chords



. . . . . . . . . .These first three steps are to make you feel confident on pressing all the strings together - without the confusion of your other finger being involved in a chord.

32) Index Finger Across all 5th Fret strings

33) Index Finger Across all 3rd Fret strings

34) Index Finger Across all 5th Fret strings


. . . . . . . . . .learning the Bar D chord (5th fret)

35) Keep Index Finger on 5th fret; now add Alt A (7th fret) (But don't play this. This is just to get your fingers in position.)

36) Alt A, 7th fret (lift off index finger, play Alt A, 7th fret)

37) Keeping Alt A, 7th fret, now put index finger down again across all 5th frets

38) Lift off the Alt A, then Play All Strings on the 5th Fret

39) All Strings 5th fret, plus Alt A (7th fret)

40) Alt A (7th fret)

41) Index Finger Across 5th String and Alt A (7th Fret) = This is a Bar D chord.


. . . . . . . . . .learning the Bar A chord (5th fret)

42) Alt E (6th fret)

43) Alt E (6th fret) +Finger (5th fret)

44) Index Finger back on 5th

45) Finger Bar 5th + Alt E (6th)

46) Alt E (6th fret) Lift off your index finger and move it back and forth until you are in full command of it.

47) Now place that finger across all the 5th Strings, and together with the Alt A finger, play the Bar A Chord (top, 5th fret) (play is 3 times)




SECTION 4: MOVING bar CHORDS UP AND DOWN THE NECK

BAR A to D and BACK;
BAR A down and up the keyboard;
BAR D down and up the keyboard.

Video #5: The video for steps 48-66 : MOVING BAR CHORDS UP AND DOWN THE NECK. . . . . . . . . .




. . . . . . . . . Going from Bar A (top) to Bar D (bottom) and back. (both, 5th fret)

48) Bar A chord (5th fret top) (play 3 times)

49) Bar D (5th fret) (bottom) (3 times)

50) Bar A (5th fret) (top)(3 times)

51) Bar D (5th fret) (bottom)

52) Bar A (top) to Bar D (bottom) and back (5 times)


. . . . . . . . . .Starting with a Bar A (5th fret): Moving down the neck from an A to G to F to Alt E. Then, moving up the neck to A, B, and C.

53) Bar A (top) (3 times) (slide down to. . . )

54) Bar G (top) (slide down to. . . )

55) Bar F (top) (slide down to. . .)

56) Alt E (3 times) (then slide up to. . .)

57) Bar A (5th fret) (then slide up to. . .)

58) Bar B (7th fret) (then slide up to. . .)

59) Bar C (8th fret)


. . . . . . . . . .Starting with a Bar D (5th fret): Moving down the neck from an D to C to Bb to Alt A. Then, moving up the neck to D, E, and F.


60) Bar D (bottom, 5th fret) (2 times) (then slide down to. . .)

61) Bar C (bottom, 3rd fret) (then slide down to. . .)

62) Bar Bb (bottom, 1st fret) (then slide down to. . .)

63) Alt A (then slide up to. . .)

64) Bar D (bottom, 5th fret) (then slide down to. . .)

65) Bar E (bottom, 7th fret)

66) Bar F (bottom, 8th fret)




SECTION 5: PLAYING MINORS (m) and SEVENTHS (7th) with BAR CHORDS

a) TOP - BAR MINOR ( Am, Gm, Em);
b) TOP - BAR 7th (A7, G7, E7);
c) BOTTOM - BAR MINOR (Dm, Cm, Bbm, Alt Am);
d) BOTTOM - BAR 7th (D7, C7, Bb7, Alt A7)

Video #6: The video for steps 67-88: PLAYING MINORS AND 7THs (SEVENTHS) WITH BAR CHORDS



. . . . . . . . . .(BAR, MINOR, TOP)

67) Alt E

68) Alt Em (e minor, last 3 fingers) (then slide up to. . .)

69) Bar Am (5th fret) (then slide down to. . .)

70) Bar Gm (3rd fret) (then slide down to. . .)

71) Bar Fm (1st fret) (then slide down to. . .)

72) Alt Em


. . . . . . . . . . (BAR, 7TH, TOP)

73) Alt E

74) Alt E7 (then slide up to. . . )

75) Bar A7 (5th fret) (then slide down to. . . )

76) Bar G7 (3rd fret) (then slide down to. . . )

77) Bar F7 (1st fret) (then slide down to. . . )

78) Alt E7


. . . . . . . . .(BAR, MINOR, BOTTOM)

79) Alt Am (then slide up to. . .)

80) Bar Dm (5th fret, bottom)(am based)(then slide down to. . .)

81) Bar Cm (3rd fret, bottom) (then slide down to. . .)

82) Bar Bbm (1st fret, boom) (then slide down to. . .)

83) Alt Am


. . . . . . . . (BAR, 7TH, BOTTOM)

84) Alt A7 (then slide up to. . .)

85) Bar D7 (5th fret,bottom) (then slide down to. . .)

86) Bar C7 (3rd fret, bottom) (then slide down to. . .)

87) Bar Bb7 (1st fret, bottom) (then slide down to. . .)

88) Alt A7




SECTION 6: THE 1-4-5 PROGRESSION. . . . . . . . . 1-4-5 PROGRESSIONS UP THE NECK

The 1-4-5 chord progression is the most popular in the blues, folk, rock, and punk. For this reason we are going to learn it several ways.


To explain a 1-4-5 chord musically is a little technical. But in short it's like this: If you name the chords on a piano they would go like this: CDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFG and so on. If you pick any letter to be chord #1, like C. so count 4 to the right gives you an F, then 5 is a G. So the 1-4-5 chord progressions is CFG.


Many of these progressions, like GCD, ADE, an CFG and DGA can be played easy with with open chords, too.


Video #7: The video for steps 89-108 : The 1-4-5 PROGRESSION. . . . . . . . . . The Basic Chord Progression for The Blues, R&B, Folk, Rock, and Punk.




. . . . . . . . . .(The E, A, B progression) (played from OPEN chord to NECK)

89) Alt E (then slide up to. . .)

90) Bar A (5th fret) (then slide up to. . .)

91) Bar B (7th fret) (then slide down to. . .)

92) Bar A (5th fret) (slide back 2 frees to play Bar A)

93) Alt E to A to B to A (play three times) (note: This, the 1-4-5 is the most used progression in music)

. . . . . . . . You can play your first songs here: Louie Louie, Wild Thing, Hound Dog.


. . . . . . . . . . (1-4-5 with NECK bar chords: ADE)

94) Bar A (top, 5th fret) (play 3 times)

95) Bar D (bottom, 5th fret)(play 3 times)
(then slide up to. . .)
96) Bar E (bottom, 7th fret)(play 3 times) (then slide down to. . .)
97) Bar D (bottom) (play 3 times)
98) Bar A to Bar D to Bar E to Bar D (play Bar D 2 times) (play the entire 1-4-5-4-1, rhythmically)


. . . . . . . . . . (1-4-5 with NECK bar chords, GCD)

99) Bar G (top, 3rd fret) (play three times)

100) Bar C (bottom, 3rd fret) (play three times)

101) Bar D (bottom, 5th fret) (play three times)

102) Bar C (bottom, 3rd fret) (play three times)

103) Bar G to Bar C to Bar D to Bar C (play Bar C2 times) (play the entire 1-4-5-4-1, rhythmically)


. . . . . . . . . .(1-4-5 with Neck bar chords, FBbC)

104) Bar F (top, 1st fret) (play three times)

105) Bar Bb (bottom, 1st ftet) (play three times)

106) Bar C ( bottom, 3rd fret) (play three times)

107) Bar Bb (bottom, 1st fret) (play three times)

108) F to Bb to C to Bb (play Bb 2 times) (play entire 1-4-5-4-1, rhythmically)





SECTION 7: BOX PROGRESSIONS

Video #8: The video for steps 109-120 : BOX PROGRESSIONS



. . . . . . . . . . (Box progression with NECK bar chords, ADCGA)

109) Bar A (top, 5th fret)

110) Bar D (bottom, 5th fret)

111) Bar C (bottom, 3rd fret)

112) Bar G (top, 3rd fret)

113) Bar A (top, 5th fret)

114) Play Box: A to D to C to G to A (play rhythmically)


. . . . . . . . . .(Box progression with NECK bar chords, GCBbFG)

115) Bar G (top, 3rd fret)

116) Bar C (bottom, 3rd fret)

117) Bar Bb (bottom, 1st fret)

118) Bar F (top, 1st fret)

119) Bar G (op, 3rd fret)

120) Box G to C to Bb to F to G (play rhythmically)





SECTION 8: The Final Wrap-Up: 1-4-5 (-4-1) Up the Neck

By playing the simple 1-4-5 progression forward and backward up the neck, it will seal the knowledge of what you learned already and leave you READY TO ROCK!


Video #9: The video for steps 121-150 : THE FINAL WRAP-UP: 1-4-5's UP THE NECK



. . . . . . . . . .(1-4-5 progression with bar chords Alt E - Alt A - B) (starts with an OPEN Chord, then 2 NECK chords)

121) Alt E

122) Alt A

123) Bar B (bottom 2nd fret)

124) Alt A

125) Alt E


. . . . . . . . . .(1-4-5 progression with NECK bar chords FBbC)

126) Bar F (top, 1st fret))

127) Bar Bb (bottom, 1st fret)

128) Bar C (bottom, 3rd fret)

129) Bar Bb (bottom, 1st fret)

130) Bar F (top 1st fret)


. . . . . . . . . .(1-4-5 progression with NECK bar chords GCD)

131) Bar G (top, 3rd fret)

132) Bar C (bottom, 3rd fret)

133) Bar D (bottom, 5th fret)

134) Bar C (bottom, 3rd fret)

135) Bar G (top, 3rd fret)


. . . . . . . . . .(1-4-5 progression with bar chords ADE)

136) Bar A (top, 5th fret)

137) Bar D (bottom, 5th fret)

138) Bar E (bottom, 7th fret)

139) Bar D (bottom, 5th fret)

140) Bar A (top, 5th fret)


. . . . . . . . . .(1-4-5 progression with NECK bar chords BEF#)

141) Bar B (top, 7th fret)

142) Bar E (bottom, 7th fret)

143) Bar F# (bottom, 9th fret)

144) Bar E (bottom, 7h fret)

145) Bar B (top, 7th fret)


. . . . . . . . . .(1-4-5 progression with NECK bar chords CFG)

146) Bar C (top, 8th fret)

147) Bar F (bottom, 8th fret)

148) Bar G (bottom, 10th fret)

149) Bar F (bottom, 8th fret)

150) Bar C (top, 8th fret)





Video #8: SAMPLE SONGS and PRACTICE EXERCISES (TO COME)



Video #9: SUCCESS STORIES (TO COME)



SIZE OF STRINGS


WHY THIN GUITAR STRINGS?

The thinner a guitar string, the easier it is to bend. The easier it is to bend, the easier it is on your fingers. And since there are 6 strings, if they all relatively thin then your fingers are less likely to get tired as you push the strings down to the frets to make notes, then, then if you use thicker strings.

Acoustic guitars generally use thicker strings than electric guitars. And thus they are harder for beginners to play. By that I mean they are harder to push down to the frets to make notes. Thats why I recommend an electric guitar with thin strings.


Guitar string sizes are expressed in "Gauges" - usually as fractions of an an inch. For example, a small thin string is .011 which is 11/100th of an inch.

Here's a chart of typical gauges for "Light" guitar strings

String

      Electric      Acoustic

1  .010     .012    +.002
2  .013     .015    +.002
3  .017     .023    +.006
4  .026     .032    +.006
5  .036     .042    +.006
6...046     .054    +.008

It may not look like much of a difference, It it will feel like a big difference on your fingers.

To visualize the difference, I've made a chart, below, of the relative difference in the sizes. Note how the electric is in all cases thinner than the acoustic. After a lot of playing, the large strings will make your hand more tired.




Electric Guitar strings are thinner than acoustic strings and easier to bend.

Comparison of typical Electric vs Acoustic Guitar stings.


(Note: The chart shows the typical strings* used in beginner electric and acoustic guitars. To put thinner strings on an acoustic might mean having to have a professional "reset the action" so the strings aren't too low to the neck.)


(Guitar strings come in set ratios, based on 1/100th of an inch. The set of electric strings above is called a "set of 9's." The acoustic set depicted is a "set of 12's.")


This is what they look like at a store. (No endorsement either way is implied). Notice the numbers on the packaging. It's a "set of 9's"



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THE 150 STEPS are BROKEN INTO 9 SHORT VIDEOS EACH UNDER 2 MINUTES LONG.

.YOU CAN BEGIN BY WATCHING THE 15 MINUTE VIDEO: FROM BEGINNER TO BAR CHORDS.

It's about 6 inches below this.

The video COMBINES all the 9 SHORTER VIDEOS that take you through the 150 steps. Then you can play the short videos while you practice.

It's best to READ THE BRIEF INTRODUCTION BELOW before seeing the video. But if you want to get straight to the video, click the first video below!



And if you want to get right to the START OF THE 150 STEPS in DIAGRAM FORM, click here.