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A Guide to Guitar Chords
Covers basic guitar chords for beginning to intermediate guitar students.

Category: Chords Instrument: Guitar Subjects(s): Chords • Jazz • Barre • Triads • Contemporary

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A Guide to Guitar Chords
Covers basic guitar chords for beginning to intermediate guitar students.
Product Info

Product Code: BC1GTR
Author(s): Curt Sheller
Publisher(s): Curt Sheller Publications
Published: Dec 23, 2004
Updated: May 21, 2025
ISBN-13: 978-1-60321-035-5
Size*: Book ANSI A (8.5 x 11 in), PDF A4 (210 x 297 mm)
Pages: 58
Hard Copy Price: $15.95
PDF Price: $7

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Covers basic guitar chords for beginning to intermediate guitar students. These are the chords that ALL guitar should know - regardless of style.

Introduction

After playing guitar for over 40 years and teaching guitar for 20 years I saw that most guitar players struggle with movable chords forms and the more advanced chords commonly called "Jazz" chords.

Seeing that there was a lack of clear, concise and an organized presentation of material for guiding one through the maze of chords for the guitar. I decided to create just such a text.

This book provides a guide to the common basic open position chords all guitar players should know, an introduction to movable chord forms and more advanced 4-part jazz chords.

This book is designed as a guide to guitar chords. Covering basic open position guitar chords, movable chord forms, rock chords, how to transpose chords, learning the guitar fingerboard and an introduction to 4-part"Jazz" chords and more… It is proven material developed over the years from my private teaching and extensive research, study and application.

From a few basic chord shapes and a understanding of how chords are constructed your chord vocabulary can be dramatically increased without memorizing countless more chord shapes. There are too many chord shapes to memorize.

This book will take the mystery out playing and understanding chords on the guitar.

Table of Contents
A Guide to Guitar Chords
  • Introduction 3
  • Open Position Chords 7
    • The Guitar Chord Diagram 8
  • Movable Barre Forms 15
    • “E/F” Barre Form 16
    • “A/Bb” Barre Form 17
    • “C/Db” Movable Form 18
    • sus, add9 and Power 5 Chords 19
    • Neutral Chords 20
    • Barre Chords Fret Chart Summary 21
    • Root & Fifth Chart 22
  • Movable Triad Chord Forms 23
    • Major Triads • String Family 1 2 3 & 2 3 4 24
    • Minor Triads • String Family 1 2 3 & 2 3 4 24
    • Diminished Triads • String Family 1 2 3 & 2 3 4 25
    • Augmented Triads • String Family 1 2 3 & 2 3 4 25
    • Tips for Remembering Triads 26
  • Movable 4-Part Chord Forms 27
    • Movable 7th Chords at Fret (1) • String Family 1 2 3 4 28
    • Generic • Movable 7th Chords • String Family 1 2 3 4 28
    • Additional 7th Movable Chord Forms 28
    • Movable 7th Chords at Fret (1) • String Family 2 3 4 6 29
    • Movable 7th Chords at Fret (1) • String Family 3 4 5 6 29
    • Tips for Remembering 4-Part Chords 30
  • 4-Part “Jazz” Chord Forms 31
    • What is a Chord? 32
    • A Few Chord Building Rules 33
    • Creating the 4 Basic Chord Types 34
    • Building More Advanced Chords 35
    • Scale Interval Formula Chart 38
    • Suggested Learning Order 40
  • Transposing Chords & Progressions 43
    • How to Transpose Chords 44
  • Practice Chord Progressions 47
    • Orlando Blues 48
    • WC Swing 49
  • Learning the Guitar Fingerboard 51
    • Reference or Key Frets 51
    • Enharmonic equivalents 53
    • Sharps to Flats 53
    • Flats to Sharps 53
    • Standard Tuning Natural & Sharp Notes 54
    • Standard Tuning Natural & Flat Notes 55
  • Conclusion 57
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Errata
A Guide to Guitar Chords
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Get The Latest Version

The current, latest PDF or e-book always has the latest changes and errata incorporated for the most up-to-date version of the file. If you downloaded the book from LearningUkulele.com, you're most likely eligible to get the NEW version of the book FREE, or just let me know if you need the latest version.

Related Lessons
Related Lessons for A Guide to Guitar Chords.
UL700g
Basic Open Position Guitar Chords - Standard Tuning

Not to leave our guitar players out of the action here is a chart for basic chords for guitar. The basic open position chords that all guitar players should know. These are typically the first chords beginner learn.

GL08
Guitar Fingerboard Chart - 6 String, Standard Tuning

Fingerboard reference chart of natural, sharp, and flats note names for six-string guitar in standard tuning (E A D G B E).

GL104
Understanding a Guitar Chord Diagram

The traditional/standard guitar chord diagram is typically used for showing chords. It is also used for showing scales-shapes, licks, and runs.

Related Books & Charts
Related Books for A Guide to Guitar Chords.
AGC-SERIES
Advanced Guide to Chords and Progressions Series

The Advanced Guide to Chords series presents a highly organized and efficient approach to the mysterious subject of advanced chords and chord progressions. Each volume provides detailed information on voicing 4-part chords, covering all major, minor, diminished and augmented chord types, their upper partials, alterations, add, sus and slash chords.

A Selection of Books & Reference Charts that are recommended for creating a solid foundation with your chosen instrument and music in general.
These are books & reference charts that apply to a majority of all lessons on LearningUkulele.com / Learning Ukulele with Curt.
Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard – C Tuning

Finally, learn the names of the notes of the fingerboard.

Six Secrets of the Ukulele Fingerboard – C Tuning

Learn the six fingering principles to navigating the ukulele fingerboard. Fingering is one of the most universal topics.

Harmonic Analysis for Scale Selection and Chord Substitution

Harmonic Analysis is the understanding of the functional sequence of chords. It is the process used to analyze the harmonic structure of a progression, song or composition.

Ukulele – Reading Music Series – Primer

Learn to read single note melodies in the first/open position is a lot easier than you might think.

Daily Practice Material for the Contemporary Ukulele

An organized collection of daily practice and reference material for the contemporary ukulele player for developing the vocabulary and knowledge necessary for single note playing.

Checkout the Books for additional Handy, Dandy Reference Charts.

Reference Charts
Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for C Tuning, Low or High G - G C E A

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for C Tuning, Low or High G – G C E A

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for G Tuning, Low or High A – D G B E

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for G Tuning, Low or High A – D G B E

Circle of Fourths and Fifths – ANSI A & A4 sizes

A handy reference chart of all 15 major and relative minor key signatures. US Letter 8.5 x 11 sized (ANSI-A), A4

Checkout the Books for additional Handy, Dandy Reference Charts.

Related Songs
Related Songs for A Guide to Guitar Chords.
ANYSONG
Any Song Will Do

This is not really a song, but simply saying that for the purposes of a lot of the lessons and lesson series on this site ANY song will do for exploring the lesson's material and concepts presented in the lesson.

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On the web since 1992 and a Mac since 1987 (Mac II) • Serving up Ukulele content since 2003 ( 22 years ago )Lets Kanikapila!!! v12.13.0 (8.2.23) • And, since Sept 2020, happily on Pop!_OS Linux and a System76 Thelio. Half the cost of the iMac and a real treat to use. I use it for ALL development work. Only wish the Affinity Suite of apps by serif where available on Linux (and I do know you can run them in Wine with a few hacks).
This sit has ben profesionaly red. awl tpyos aree free and no aditonal chrge • I'm blaming it on “jazz” fingers. “Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
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