Most Used Guitar Chords

Guitar Basic Chords for Beginners

The most basic open major chords on the guitar are the chords of, E, G, A, C, and D. Each of these chords are associated with their own group of other chords that make up the chord set for that particular key, which we will discuss more about shortly.

The most basic minor chord formations on the guitar are Em, Am, Dm, and Bm. Knowledge of the 5 major chord formations along with these 4 minor chord formations, along with the use of a capo, will allow us to play almost any popular song in practically any key.

Let’s look at each of these chord formations.

Major Chords

In the chord charts below, the word "OPEN" means to play the string open (not fretted). The letter "X" means "Do not play this string."

E Major

G Major

A Major

C Major

D Major

Minor Chords

The four minor chord formations and slight variations of the their major counterpart.

E Minor

A Minor

B Minor

D Minor

Of course, there are diminished chords, suspended chords, seventh chords, major seventh chords, ninth chords, eleventh chords, and many other chord variations, but these are the basic major and minor chords, which are the stepping stones to learning the other variations. And so, first things first. Learn these 9 basic foundational chords, and you’ll be off to a great start.