If you want to learn to play a new song on the guitar in minutes, you will need to be a chord wizard.
Yet whenever we ask a pro guitarist about the hardest part of their early grind as a beginner, most will mention the struggle of memorizing the chords.
It’s hard enough to get your fingers in the right position and hold them so every string rings out, right?
But wait, there’s a solution! Meet your new secret weapon; it’s called Card Chords.
What Are Card Chords & Why Are They Special?
At the first glance, Card Chords look like cue cards with chord positions and tabs. But they’re more than that.
These cards feature a special design that allows guitarists to actually slide them between the guitar neck and the strings, granting you instant chord tabs any time you look at your neck. Check out how they work in the embedded clip below.
There’s a chance you saw similar products before but none were as optimized as Card Chords, and none allow your strings to ring out so fully.
You can check out two versions of Card Chords: The Stratocaster Edition for all Strat-like six-strings from the iconic Fender Strat to all Stratocaster copies, Guild Guitars, Yamaha, and Ibanez models.
The second option is the Les Paul Edition, aimed at Gibson Les Paul, Epiphone, and Gretsch guitars.
Through Card Chords, you can actually learn to play songs on your guitar within minutes. To make your journey even smoother, we’ll showcase the three most useful songs that cover the most songs on a guitar. Here goes!
The G Chord
It all starts with the G Major. This chord has found its way into many iconic, yet beginner-oriented tracks. It is available as part of the Card Chords package and requires the use of four fingers of your fingering hand.
The following pattern demonstrates the Open G Major Chord, which is just a way to say that one or several strings are played as open strings, meaning you don’t press any of the frets but just strum them.
This is the procedure to play the G Major chord:
- Place your pinky finger on the third fret of the high-E string. High E is the thinnest string, the first string from the bottom.
- Don’t touch the second (B), third (G), and fourth (D) strings, leave them open and be careful not to accidentally touch them. The tones must ring cleanly.
- Place your index finger on the second fret of the A string. The A string is the fifth string, the second thickest one.
- Place your middle finger on the third fret of the E string, also known as the sixth string from the bottom and the thickest string.
- Strum!
The C Chord
After the G comes the C. C Major is the second entry on our list of the most useful chords, and it’s actually fairly similar to G Major.
In the most straightforward terms, you just lower your index and middle fingers to the same position on the strings below.
C Major chord is once again an open chord, and a newbie-friendly one to boot. To play C Major, stick to the following steps:
Once again, we are looking at an open, beginner-friendly chord. To play C Major, just follow these steps:
- Place your ring finger on the third fret of the A string, which is the second thickest string, the fifth one from the bottom.
- Place your middle finger on the second fret of the D string, the third thickest string or the fourth one from the bottom.
- Don’t touch the third string (the G string), leave it open, and pay attention not to accidentally mute it.
- Place your index finger on the first fret of the B string, which is the second string, or the second thinnest string.
- Don’t touch the high E string, which is the thinnest string, the first one from the bottom. Let it ring when strumming.
- With the tip of your thumb, gently touch the thickest string, the E string. You should not press hard but just gently touch so you mute the string.
- Strum away!
The D Chord
Rounding up our Top 3 guitar chords is D Major. We are again looking at an open chord, which some call even easier than the previous two. And yes, D Major is readily available in the Card Chords package.
Playing D Major requires pressing three frets with your fingers and leaving one open string to ring. To play it, these are the steps to stick to:
- Place your middle finger on the second fret of the high E string, which is the first string from the bottom, or the thinnest string.
- Place your ring finger on the third fret of the B string, which is the second string, or the second thinnest string.
- Place your index finger on the second fret of the G string, which is the third string from the bottom.
- Leave the fourth string open without accidentally muting it. The open tone must ring cleanly.
- Strum the four thinnest strings!
OK, which songs can I play now that I know G, C & D chords?
You can play a lot, my friend! Here is a brief list of just some of the legendary songs that you can play using G, C, and D chords.
- Bob Dylan – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
- Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
- Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight
- Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn
- AC/DC – You Shook Me All Night Long
- Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire
- The Beatles – Love Me Do
- Bon Jovi – Wanted Dead or Alive
If you feel inspired – and we hope you do – and want to master these iconic tracks in a matter of minutes, feel free to check out the Card Chords for Strat, Guild, and Yamaha here. Or if you’re a Les Paul player, check out the Les Paul edition at this link. Rock steady!
