How Diagrams Can Help You Learn to Play Guitar Chords

Whether you have just started playing the guitar, or you have been playing for a little while, odds are you have heard at least some mention of how a guitar chord diagram can help you in your quest to learn to play guitar chords. Regardless of whether you are a beginner or an advanced player, understanding how to read and understand one of these diagrams can make or break your success as a guitar player. One of the easiest ways to achieving guitar playing success is to learn the guitar chords and then apply them to the rhythm parts of the song of your choice.

What exactly is a Guitar Chord Diagram?

While you have probably heard how important this diagram is to your learning to play guitar chord success, odds are you have no clue as to what the real purpose is for this diagram. Simply stated, a guitar chord diagram is a graphical representation of a single guitar chord which is often referred to as a “chord box”. The chord box is pretty much a box in the shape of a rectangle that will show you how to play a chord. The diagram gives a representation of the guitar’s fretboard and it will show you where you need to place your fingers to form the chord as well as which string you need to strike in order to play it. A guitar chord diagram is truly packed full of a lot of useful information in a handy little package, provided you know how to use it.

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Most Common Elements That Make Up a Chord Diagram

While there may be a variety of different guitar styles and formats, there are some common elements that exist on every chord diagram. They are:

• The diagram includes six lines that represent the strings of the guitar. Depending on setup of the chord box, the strings may run either vertically up and down the page or across the page horizontally.
• If the diagram is vertical, the string located on the left represents the low E string, which is the thickest one, and the string on the right represents the high E which is the thinnest string.
• The diagram contains a series of lines running across the string lines which represents the frets.
• The string lines and the fret lines on the diagram come together to form a grid which represents the guitar fretboard.
• The diagram contains circles or dots on the grid to show exactly which strings to press on which fret to play the chord.  

This information can help you form and play and chord just by following the diagram. The best part of this diagram is that you don’t even need to know how to read standard musical notation, or even guitar tabulature, in order to read a diagram.

Simple Tips to Using Guitar Chord Diagrams to Your Advantage

First, a chord diagram is one of the most powerful tools you have in your learn to play guitar chords arsenal. Don’t ever think you are too good for these diagrams as they will be able to help you immensely in those times when you may get stuck.

Second, single chord diagrams can be combined to make chord charts. If you have successfully learned all the chords on one diagram, you can combine your chords to make a chart giving you the ability to learn basic chords, chord families, sequences, and songs.

Lastly, the web is also packed full of resources that can help you learn to play guitar chords. A great resource is The Guitar Players Toolbox but even more are available if you just take the time to look.

If you too want to learn to play guitar chords, then a guitar chord diagram should most definably be in your bag of tricks. These diagrams can help you learn how to play nearly any chord no matter what you skill level, allowing you to achieve guitar playing success quicker than may have once been thought possible.

To find out more how diagrams can easily help you learn guitar so much quicker and take your playing to the next level, check out Steve Krenz who is regarded as the master of the guitar and Winner of the 2008 Acoustic Guitar Player's Choice Awarded course show you;

Learn and Master the Guitar.

by Liam Gibson