An acoustic guitar chord is several notes all played at once. There are a lot of different acoustic guitar chords, but if you can learn a few basic ones, you can then play hundreds, if not thousands, of songs. There are some of the major chords, which have a brighter sound whilst the minor chords have a darker or sadder sound.
Guitar chords are notated with chord diagrams. Acoustic guitar chord diagrams are similar to guitar tabs, except that the lines representing the strings run vertically (up and down) rather than horizontally (side to side). When you look at a chord diagram, you will see a grid.
As you look at it, the vertical lines you see in front of you are those that represent the strings on your guitar, whilst the horizontal ones are there to represent the frets on it. Along with these lines there are dots and these represent the position in which you need to press down on the strings. Further to the dots and lines on the grid there are also numbers at the bottom and it is these that tell you where you need to place your fingers on each string. The Number 1 relates to your index finger, Number 2 to your middle finger, Number 3 to your ring finger and Number 4 to your small (pinkie) finger.
Where you see a number 0, that string is left open and played. Where you see an X, that string is left open and not played. The thumb isn't used too often, but when it is, it's noted as T.
The first acoustic guitar chord we're going to talk about is the G-major chord. To play this chord, place your middle finger on the sixth string at the third fret, your index finger on the fifth string at the second fret and your ring finger on the first string on the third fret. Now play each note, including the open strings, one at a time.
When you play each note, you make sure that you hear the sound that they are producing very clearly. If you do not or they make some kind of rattling or buzzing noise when being played you may find you need to press down on the fingerboard of the guitar a little harder or move the finger closer to the fret. Also as you play each note make sure that none of your fingers come
