In today’s article, I’m going to teach you some basic tips on mastering guitar chords.

While these tips are definitely geared towards beginners to the guitar, even advanced players might learn something from these.

I remember when I first started getting good that I would forget the basics from time to time.

It was always a good idea for me to go back and take a look at the basics that are so easily forgotten.

Because just like anything in life, it’s mastering the foundations that really separate you from the rest of the pack.  So keep this in mind if you’ve been playing for awhile.

Mastering the foundations is key to guitar success!

When you see people playing the guitar, it’s not actually as easy as it looks.

If you’re new, you probably know this fact too well.

You pick up the guitar and try to do what your buddy was doing only to find that it’s almost impossible!

Or you might begin to think that maybe the guitar is simply out of tune.  You’re pressing the right strings and chord combinations, but the sounds that are coming out is nothing like you thought they would be…

Before you think about learning advanced tactics like leads, riffs, scales and more, below are the steps in knowing the chords of the guitar…

Learn To Love The Chord Guide

Treat your guitar chord guide like a new best friend. Learn everything about it so that you will be able to know how well it works for learning.

In a chord guide, you will see guitar chords which is composed of a guitar tab staff (horizontal lines representing 6 strings of the guitar), and the different symbols that are mostly used in a guitar tab.

Take the time to learn tab if you haven’t done so – it’s one of those important skills that you need to master so that you can read chord guides and song books.

If you already know tab and how it works, then you are on your way of mastering the guitar chords – it will simply take time, practice and dedication.

Hands And Eyes Coordinate Together

As you learn to play the guitar, you are actually developing your eye and hand muscles as well.

As you shift on the chords, you are enabling them to retain in your memory.

This is why you practice daily doing repetitve movements – it’s the act of playing over and over and over again that helps you remember the chords.

Over time, your muscles will grow stronger, your fingers will improve their dexterity, and what you once thought was a hard chord to play will become a simple task.

You’ll also learn how to catch things better, unlike the dude in the image…

Play 3 Chords At A Time

Challenge yourself to actually play & learn three chords at a time as your mind can handle this quite easily.

While doing this begin with the basics like C, A , G, E, D.  These chords are basic and should be mastered first before learning the harder ones.

Focus on mastering 3 chords at once before moving on to the next two as this will keep you from spreading yourself too ‘thin’.

You can definitely do drills and practice scales and such, but don’t devote all of your time to these skills – chords are very important to learn.

Change Is Good!

When you’re still learning the basics, make a random change of the chords that you are learning like from C to G, and then from E to A.

By doing this, you will be able to retain it in your memory as you are repeating it randomly.

And by switching up randomly, you will train your brain the locations of the chords and fret board which will only further help you master the guitar quicker than most players.

I find for me that the more I switch chords up, the faster I learn.

Now obviously I would only do this once I actually know the placements of each chord on the fret board.

Are you serious about learning guitar?  Then visit Guitar Tricks right now and check out their video lessons.

You’ll learn a lot from them, much more than an article.

Mike