Open chords on the guitar. Examples of open chords with fingerings and descriptions

What are open chords

open chords are chords that include one or more open strings that are not pinched. The most commonly used positions are on the first three or four frets. Due to the properties of sound, unclamped strings vibrate with greater resonance than fingers-clamped strings. This creates freedom and fullness of sound.

They are used in a wide range of different musical styles, including popular music. Many famous songs can be learned using 3-4 of these chords.

Open chord notation scheme

Two symbols are used on the diagrams – a cross, a zero and a filled dot. These characters are easy to remember. The filled dot is the strings that need to be clamped. Open strings are indicated by a zero – they just sound. A cross indicates strings that should not be played.

What are closed chords

Closed chords called those that do not have open strings. Most often this is a full barre when six strings are clamped. But there are also options with a small barre.

Closed chord notation scheme

For schemes, a cross and filled dots are also used. Barre is indicated by an arc between filled dots or a thick line spanning all strings.

Open chords – the beginning of the path of any guitarist

A person who picks up an instrument for the first time almost always uses open guitar chords. To learn the simplest songs, you should learn a few harmonies. The most elementary of them: Am, A, Dm, D, Em, E, C, G. A letter without a designation means a major “cheerful” chords. An additional “m” indicates a minor (“sad”) coloration. By memorizing these eight fingerings, you can already play a lot of songs. The fingerings will show you how to put chords right.

Open chords or barre – which is better

Of course, it’s best for a beginner. chords without barre. But in music, you simply cannot do without complex harmonies. Even in ordinary yard songs, sooner or later you will have to use a closed version. Therefore, beginners can be advised to gradually get acquainted with the world of barre.

Tip: You need to choose a song where the insidious closed chord occurs 1-2 times for a short period of time. After taking the barre, you can take a break of a few seconds. Then it will be much easier to train.

Example songs with open chords

We offer you some simple songs where open strings are used. Each of them contains only chords for beginnerswhich greatly simplifies learning.

1. Song from the movie “Operation” Y “” – “Wait the locomotive”
2. Lube – “Call me quietly by name”
3. Agatha Christie – “Like at War”
4. Semantic Hallucinations – “Forever Young”
5. Chaif ​​- “Not with me”
6. Hands Up – “Alien Lips”

Complex variants of open chords

Every open chord has a lot of variations. They are used by both “advanced” beginners and composers. Each of these harmonies has an interesting sound, which significantly decorates the performed composition. After learning simple harmonies, you can gradually expand your “knowledge base”.

What you need to know about open chords

Bass playing. To form the correct extraction of chord sounds, it is necessary to play the correct bass strings this harmony. For example, for Am or A, the bass tonic is the open 5th string (la).

The use of a capo makes it easier to play songs in keys that require constant closed chords. By placing this simple item on the neck, you will play open positions.

Muting unnecessary strings (indicated by a cross) is necessary in order not to make the harmony “dirty” and not to add extraneous sounds.

Movable chord shapes. You can experiment with sound in a simple way. You need to take the fingering of a complex version of an open chord (see paragraph above) and simply move your hand on the fretboard to different positions. You will get an interesting sound. The main thing here is to pay attention to the information from the previous paragraph, because. most often, when moving the position along the fretboard, you need to muffle or not play extra notes.

Conclusion

It is worth noting that a set of simple chords is the main baggage of a guitarist. Thanks to this knowledge, you can gradually develop your performing and composing skills and surprise listeners with unusual harmonies.