Okay, so you’ve got yourself a guitar and are looking to learn the basics. You’d like to be able to string a few chords together and play some songs. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done; it seems like no matter what kind of song you choose, you are faced with a group of chords that are awkward or seemingly impossible to play. Don’t worry. It’s not just you. You just need a better starting point as a beginner guitar player.
Most methods and teachers will start off by giving you full, 5 or 6-string chords on your guitar. Their intentions are good, but chords have become easy for them; they take it for granted. They want to help you be able to play your guitar, but they’ve forgotten just how difficult it is as a beginner to play those kinds of chords – and that’s just one at a time; forget about progressions! They expect you to struggle with those big chords through a few weeks of frustration before you get them down.
As a beginner, this is just not good enough. The learning curve is way too steep when trying to get these larger kinds of chords down. The better approach is to learn smaller, easier chords for now that will still let you play real music and that won’t take weeks to finish. This is why I recommend that you start by learning 3-string chords – most of my beginner students are able to learn and use them in real songs in about 20 minutes!
Let’s look at why learning 3-string chords works…
Why You Should Learn 3-String Chords First?
1. They Are Easier To Play
The majority of 3-string chords that you learn will require you to use 1 or 2 fingers; there are only two that use 3 fingers – none that use all 4 fingers. This makes the chords a lot easier to play as you won’t have as many fingers to fight with when placing them on your fretboard.
2. You Will Learn Them Faster
Because 3-string chords are smaller than their 5 or 6 string counterparts, you will be able to learn them much faster.
3. They Are Easier To Remember
There is a lot less to remember when you are learning a chord with 3 strings compared to 5 or 6. This means that you will be able to memorizing your chords by name and position becomes a lot easier to do. This in turn makes using those chords easier, as well.
4. You Are More Likely To Be Able to Play Them Right Now
Larger chords will usually require finger positions and stretches that are very difficult for beginners to do and can take weeks to play properly. Because 3-string chords are smaller and less complex, chances are you will be able play them in a matter of minutes, not weeks.
5. They Are Easier To Use
Connecting 3-string chords together into chord progressions (chains of different chords) is also a lot easier. In my own teaching experience, brand new students with little to no experience in music are able to put 3-string chords together to play actual songs in about 20-30 minutes.
6. They Can Be Used To Play 100s Of Songs
Don’t underestimate the power of 3-string chords – just because they are easier to play doesn’t mean they are any less powerful in music. 3-string chords will work just as well to play songs as 5 or 6-string chords. Once you know how to play a handful of them, you will be able to play hundreds of well-known songs in all different genres.
7. They Make Your Overall Learning Easier Right Now
Have you even played an RPG video game like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, or Skyrim? When you start out as a level 1 character, you have to do small, short, easy quests that take minutes or seconds to complete. You also advanced to the next level much faster at level 1 compared to any other time – it might take 5 minutes to get to level 2. As you get more powerful, the challenge level that you have to overcome increases; quests can take an hour or more to complete and it could be days before you level-up.
Learning to play the guitar is lot like this. As a beginner, you are better off working on material is that is appropriate your level that will give you success as quickly as possible – your guitar skills will level up in minutes!
8. There Will Be Plenty Of Time To Learn The Larger Chords Later
The argument I’ve seen from some other players is that you are going to have to learn the 5 and 6-string chords anyway, so why not just learn them from the start. Let me return to the RPG from the last point: if you tried to take on a level 10 quest at level 1, you are setting yourself up for failure. The guitar is the same.
You can confront something you aren’t ready for now, but you are in for a very difficult up-hill battle. Plus, those 5 and 6-string chords don’t have a time limit on them; they aren’t going to disappear if you don’t learn them right this second! You can return to them at any time and learn them once you are more comfortable with your guitar.
Now that you’ve seen why you should learn 3-string chords first, you can start learning them by going to 3-String Chords That You Need To Know Pt. 1. It will get show you how to play the best chords to learn on your guitar when you’re brand new to playing.
