8,720
edits
Changes
m
1st Inv 2nd Inv
|o|-|-|p|-| E/G |o|-|-|-|-| E
|-|i|-|-|-| C |-|i|-|-|-| C
|o|-|-|-|-| G |o|-|-|-|-| G
|-|-|m|-|-| E |-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
→Open Position C Major Chord
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
The first chord chart is the most common voicing, in root position with a triad and and additional root and third above.
The second chart shows other available notes - charts show inversions, using the E and G on the 6th string can be used for inversions. The high G on the 1st string can be used to give the chord a less tense feel, since a fifth is more consonant than a major third.
=== Fingering ===
Fingering a chord at first is a bit difficult. Your fingers will not cooperate like they should. I found the easiest way to go about it is to get one finger in place at a time. Make sure you've got each one in place with a good fret job before moving on to the next. It helps to play each individual note, so you can hear if one of the notes is fretted badly or is being muted or is actually an incorrect note.
'''You'll notice that you have to curl your fingers pretty well to accurately fret a chord. ''' For the C Major chord above, every finger can potentially run into this issue. The ring finger must fret the 5th string but cannot touch the 4th string. The middle finger frets the 4th, but cannot touch the 3rd. The index finger must fret the 2nd string, but cannot touch the 3rd or 1st strings. This adds to the difficulty on top of stretching your fingers to fret the correct strings and frets.
One thing that may help is moving your left-hand thumb away from the side of the neck and towards the middle of the back of the neck, as described [[Basic_Technique#Left-Hand_Grip|here]]. This makes curling your fingers to use your finger tips a bit easier. Also, try rotating your arm/wrist so that your elbow is closer to your body.