How to Quickly Learn all Guitar Chord Shapes

Learn and master these easy techniques to start playing different chord shapes like a Guitar Pro.

Hi guys. We have received lots of questions about techniques and methods to easily learn all chord shapes on the Guitar. This is one problem for all beginners and some advanced learners. I actually asked this question so many times, until I finally found the right technique by myself.

When you spend lots of time playing rubbish, at one point you start asking your guitar questions, how can I play Bdim? How can I play the 4th major not on key F? at the end of the day we start relying on Capo to play on all keys.

It is advisable for people to use Capo to ease the stress, but I can only recommend Capo for singers who want to sing while playing the guitar. Sometimes it is hard to move around your fretboard while you are singing, so it is recommended for them to use the Capo. But if you are a guitarist, I mean all you want to do is play your guitar most of the time.

it is advisable to learn how to play on all keys as a guitarist and that is why I am writing this article. You can’t play on all keys without learning all the Guitar Chord Shapes properly. I am not going to be very technical, this is going to be very brief. So here are the tips I want you guys to know:

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

2. Understand how your open chords were derived: When you understand how these chords are formulated you’ll be able to understand the next step. We all know C, E, and G are the notes that makeup Cmaj.

3. Know the intervals between chords: Assuming we are on Key C, the major scale for key C is C-D-EF-G-A-BC. Note the dash means you skip a fret before the next note, while for EF and BC no frets are skipped.

4. Know the major and minor chords: C, F, and G are the major chords on key C. while D-E-A in the minors and we have one diminished chord which is you B. Know the all the chord shapes.

Last Tip: After knowing all these steps, the next thing to do is like kindergarten mathematics 1+1=2. So assuming there is an Am chord and you want to play A#m which is also Bb, all you have to do is to adjust your fingers to the next frets and voila you have an A#m chord. But it won’t sound right and that is where Barre Chords were invented. So you have to re-adjust your hand so that your index finger can be used to create the barre.

Let’s take another example: Your Emaj chord is within the first two frets on standard toning. So we already know that getting to F you don’t have to skip any frets, so you can adjust your fingers to the next frets and then you can use your index to create a barre and that was how the Fmaj barre chord was invented.

You can do this for all the easy chords and you can start playing on any key as long as you know notes of the major scale for all keys. Please feel free to comment on questions, extra tips, or if you found this article useful. Feel free to use the Tab Generator page to easily access and create Chord Shapes
Thank you.

The two barre shapes every guitarist needs

Shape	Root on	Example	Frets (low E to high E)
E major shape	Low E string	F major (fret 1)	1 3 3 2 1 1
E minor shape	Low E string	Fm (fret 1)	1 3 3 1 1 1
A major shape	A string	B♭ major (fret 1)	x 1 3 3 3 1
A minor shape	A string	B♭m (fret 1)	x 1 3 3 2 1

Slide any of these shapes up the neck and the chord name follows the root note: the E shape at fret 3 is G, the A shape at fret 3 is C. Put it into practice with our guitar chords.

Frequently asked questions

What are the first guitar chords to learn?

E minor, A minor, C, G, D and E. With these you can play hundreds of songs.

Why are barre chords so hard?

They need hand strength and a good thumb position behind the neck. Practise them a few minutes a day; most players get them clean within a few weeks.

Is a capo cheating?

No. Capos are used by professionals to get open-string sounds in any key. Learning barre chords as well gives you the most freedom.