By now you will understand just how easy working out major chords is.? You can work out any major chord in the same manner simply by remembering that the first note is the tonic note and is the note with the same name as the chord.?

All you have to do now is learn to play these notes all together instead of separately.?

You will notice as you proceed that guitar chords do not follow exactly the order of notes selected using your 1,5,8 rule.? The rule helps you to find what notes are in the chord but very often? you will not be able to play them in that order with the tonic note being the first note of the chord.? Changing the note positions round is called inversion and you will use inversions to make chord playing easier but more on that later.

Playing Chords.?

Chords can be very interesting things to learn and you are going to learn them in easy stages and improve the sound of your playing as you go along.?

*? While playing a chord you may find at times that it doesn't harmonize perfectly with every melody note played.? It was never intended that it should.? You will notice this most when practicing very slowly.? At normal tempo any clash of sound will go unnoticed.

*? When you move from one chord to another try not to lift your hand too high off the fret board but keep close to the strings so that your hand does not have to travel an unnecessary distance.

*? There are no hard and fast rules for which fingers to use when forming chords.? Much depends on what chord follows next and what makes the change over easiest.?

*? Move your fingers in concert, as a group, from one chord to the next.? Avoid moving only one finger at a time.

*? You must work at keeping your fingers away from other strings otherwise you will create a dull, clunky sound.? Once you have formed the chord play each note separately aiming for a clear ringing note.? If there is a clunk correct the error and try again.? Only practice will make you good at playing crisp, clear chords but you will derive a great deal of pleasure out of being able to play a series of chords smoothly and without error.??

*? You can practice your chords without even playing a note.? Simply concentrate on moving your fingers from chord to chord.

*? If you cannot get all your fingers to move from one position to the next all together you should at least make sure that the finger fretting the first string struck is in place first.? This gives you a split second to position the other fingers.? With the G chord, for example, get you finger onto the 3rd fret, 6th string first.? You have a split second to get finger 4 into position before the 1st string is struck.

Most beginners will strum a chord a few times then move on to the next? chord then try and put them all together in a chord progression.? This is fine and all part of learning and having fun but after you have done that and feel totally dissatisfied with the result start again and practice the chord in the following manner.

Determine to practice only one chord until you have got it right.

Have you clipped your nails?

Place each finger in position individually and pluck that string alone to make sure it is sounding OK

Once the complete chord is formed play the chord one string at a time to make sure that all notes sound OK

You may have to adjust your finger position between the fret bars until you get it sounding clear with no buzzy or clunky sounds.

When you have got the chord sounding right take a good hard look at your hand and say to yourself "THIS is correct."? As you say that try pressing down hard with your fingers as you repeat to yourself that this is the correct way to play the chord.? Don't just glance quickly at your fingers but really look at them and burn the image clearly into your brain.?

After you have repeated that several times take your hand away and relax it.? Then place your fingers back into the correct position.? Did you hit it right first time?? If not repeat the procedure.? Then repeat it again until you can place your fingers in the correct position first time.

Only after you are satisfied that you can hit this one chord right first time should you move on to the next chord.? Repeat this entire procedure for the new chord.

Once you have got 2 or 3 chords perfected in this manner try putting them together in a progression.? Use the metronome provided to ensure that you can keep in time.

When you have finished for the day and put your guitar away you should carry with you in your mind a very clear picture of your finger formation for each chord.? You can recall this image at any time during the day and mentally practice the chord progressions saying to yourself that this is the correct way to play that chord.? (The fact that there may be a little pain and discomfort involved in learning to play the chord is good as it helps ingrain in you mind what is necessary to play the chord correctly.)? When you next pick up your guitar can you form the chords correctly first time?? If not repeat this procedure and keep on repeating it.? Eventually you will find that your fingers automatically play the chord for you without much thought and what seemed very difficult at first becomes very easy and you will wonder why it was so difficult to begin with.

Learning to play a chord progression smoothly and without fault will seem a bit strange and difficult at first.? So was walking or riding a bike or driving a car.? Eventually you do it without even thinking or - believe it or not - while thinking about something else!!