four shapes · which finger goes where · changing in time
Four chords will get you through most songs ever written. See each shape with the fingers numbered, hear it strummed, then run the change drill — a count-in, a steady click, and two shapes taking turns a bar at a time. Nothing here is marked or scored.
the four open chords
0 2 2 0 0 0
Two fingers, both at the second fret, and all six strings ring. The easiest full-sounding chord on the instrument — start here every time.
E minor on the neck — the numbers are which finger goes where
Written as a chart it is 0 2 2 0 0 0, one number per string from the thick low E to the thin high e. A number means press that fret, a zero means let the string ring open, and an x means keep it quiet. Tap any spot on the neck to hear it on its own.
the change drill — one bar each, round and round
from
to
press play — four clicks, then the chords start
G major
C major
Four down-strums on the first shape, four on the second, then round again. Nothing is being marked — the click is here so the change happens in time rather than whenever your fingers happen to be ready. Start slower than feels sensible. On beat four, lift and start travelling so your fingers land as beat one arrives; every guitarist does this and nobody has ever noticed.
These four chords are chapter four of the course — take the Guided Path →
or go back to the basics →