the family D

It could be said that chord forms are related by the finger shapes they have in common. The D and A7 forms are related by the common position of your index and middle fingers. The D and G forms are related similarly, but with a different finger shape in common. The Am and E forms are identical, and therefore related in this way too. 


The sounds that chords make are related by the tone in which they are commonly rooted. We explored A seventh, A major and A minor and learned because of their common root tone, they are all members of the chord family A. So are E major, E minor and E seventh members of the chord family E.


For now let's agree that the major, minor and seventh chords of a given family are like immediate members. They are like brothers and sisters. Everyone else is a distant cousin. And like a distant cousin, they sometimes live in a different place. They look different and they sound different. You'll see these aliens appear from time to time in music books. And they sometimes have exotic names like Am6 or Fma7 or Gsus4 or Bbº7. They sometimes sound exotic too. 

For now it's only important that A minor 6th is related to the family A, and F major seventh is related to the family F, and G suspended 4th is related to the family G and B flat diminished 7th is in a strange way, related to the family B flat. And so on. More times than not, you can substitute a Am for Am6, F for F major seventh and G for G suspended 4th. For B flat diminished seventh, I don't know...just leave it alone for now. Like distant cousins, it's nice when they're around but you don't have to invite them over every weekend.


So chords are related by their root tones. And we can say chord forms are related by the similarity of their shape on the finger board. Though each of these is important to recognize, songs aren't very often built upon either of these sorts of relationships. Understanding how chords are related to song structure is the big issue for which we are preparing. We'll get to that soon enough but for now, let's study  a few more chord forms.

Let's become acquainted now with the immediate family of D. Here's how to make the D minor form from D major. Leave your ring finger on the second string, third fret. Move your middle finger from the first string, second fret to the third string, second fret. Add your index finger to the first string, first fret. D minor. Or Dm. As with all members of the family D, strum from the fourth string. 


And here's the D seventh form. From D major, we need to move the finger that's on the second string, third fret, and put it on the second string, first fret. Of course that's impossible, so we'll have to shift our entire fingering around. Middle finger to the third string, second fret, index finger to the second string, first fret, and ring finger the first string, second fret.

E, E seventh and E minor

Now that you're familiar with Am, you can also make E major. Both chords use the exact same form, but use it in a different place. When in Am, the middle finger of your fretting hand is on the fourth string, second fret, and the ring finger of your fretting hand is on the third string, second fret. The index finger is on the second string, first fret.

Move the entire form toward the ceiling by one string as you hold your guitar. Your middle finger is now on the fifth string, second fret, ring finger on the fourth string, second fret, and index finger on the third string, first fret. Strum from the sixth string. I really like the sound of E major on the guitar. It rings like no other chord. 


Let's explore the major, minor and seventh forms of E, like we did for A. To get from E major to E minor, simply lift your index finger off the fret board. Strum again from the sixth string. Some of these are easier than others.


Putting your finger back on the third string, first fret is putting you back in E major. Now, from E, let's go to E7 by lifting your ring finger off of the fourth string, second fret. Simple?


Here's the same exercise practice, this time using the family of E chords. Strum all six strings throughout.


E    E    Em    Em


E    E    E7     E7

just for kicks

Just for kicks, here's one more chord progression to practice uses the Am chord in a more familiar context. Four beats, or four strums to the measure. On a C chord, begin your strum on the fifth string. On an F, begin your strum on the fourth string. On G, begin from the sixth string.

C    Am    F    G

C    Am    F    G

If this sounds a little familiar to you, the above is one of the most common chord progressions used in the history of popular music. See if you can't find some songs that use these chords, either in the order given, or in a variation.

Maybe you noticed that C and Am have two fingers in common. Changing from C to Am involves little more than moving your ring finger from the fifth string, third fret, where C needs it to be, to the third string, second fret, where Am needs it to be. 

Am and F have one finger in common, the index finger at the second string, first fret. Leave it there as you wiggle your ring and middle fingers into position. Then try to flatten your index finger to a half-barre to cover both the first and second strings at the first fret. That's a lot to juggle in one measure, but keep strumming.

To get to G from the F position, first get your ring finger to the sixth string, same fret. Your middle finger will follow as you let go of the half-barre. Then add your pinky to the first string, third fret. 

To play this progression well, a lot of fingers have to fly around the frets. If it seems difficult, that's because it is. But I'll bet it's not as difficult as when you first tried to change from D to A7 and back. Maybe not, but this is what making progress feels like. The day you can handle these changes is the day you've gained good dexterity in your fretting hand.

A minor

Let's try our first minor chord. To finger A minor, or Am, start with your middle finger on the fourth string, second fret, and your ring finger on the third string, second fret. Then add your index finger to the second string, first fret. Strum from the fifth string.

Here's an interesting thing to listen for. Go back to A major for eight beats and then over to A minor for eight beats. 

A    A    Am    Am

Although these two chords don't very often appear together in a song, playing them like this gives us the chance to listen to the difference between a major chord and a minor chord, with the same tone A, as the root. 

We begin to make visual associations about the world at a very early age. Little boys and girls all know that blue is the sky, green is the grass, yellow is the dandelions, white is the snow, and so forth. How then, do we make the same visual associations to the things we hear? What is a D chord, for example?  

To begin recognizing that which distinguishes A major from A minor is to begin making your own aural associations with the sounds that come from your guitar. As corny as it may seem, close your eyes and strum A major. Think about what words you might use to describe the sound you are hearing. If words like 'whole' or 'complete' or 'sunny' or 'circle' come to mind, then your list or words is a lot like mine. For some reason, I always think of the color yellow when I hear A major.

Try the same thing with A minor. My list of words includes 'dark,' 'sad,'moody,' 'gloomy,' and others. You get the idea. Let's try this exercise.

A    A    Am    Am

A    A    A7    A7

If A major is sunny and A minor is moody, what's A7? Whatever you decide; the point of all of this is that for every root tone, there is a major, minor and dominant seventh chord that can be built around it. 

Here's another way to say it. If A is the color yellow, the Am is that same yellow with a little blue added. And A7 might be yellow with a little red added instead. If D is brown, then Dm would be  brown with the same blue added, and D7 would be brown with a little red. Something like that.

If you are able to identify the sounds of a major, minor and dominant seventh chord by listening means you are using your ears well. If you're not able to do this so well, no matter. Our main focus is on learning chord forms, identifying them by name, and gaining the skill to change from one to another. Try again some other day.

A major

A7, A major and A minor are all somewhat similar to each other in terms of their form and their sound. Musicians describe them as being related because they share the same root tone, A. 

Let's start with A major. There are several ways to finger A major and here's a good one. Start by making an A7 chord. The index finger of your fretting hand is on the fourth string, second fret, and the middle finger of your fretting hand is on the second string, second fret.

We're going to give your index finger the job of holding down both the fourth and third strings  at the second fret, similar to what we did for an F chord. When you lay the pad of your index finger flat against those two strings, bend the joint closest to the tip of your index finger as far as it will go. You should be able to get both strings down at the second fret satisfactorily, and there ought to be room to for your middle finger to still be holding down the second string at the second fret. This fingering for an A chord is a good one to start out with, but the fingering you are most comfortable with is the one to use. 

As with all chords having the tone A as the root, begin your strum from the fifth string. See if you can get that first string to ring clearly, then try a chord changing exercise. You know the drill:

D    D    A    A

G    G    A    A

Here's another way to finger an A chord. Index finger on the fourth string, middle finger on the third string, ring finger on the second string. Squeeze 'em all in at the second fret. A variation of this is, middle finger on the fourth string, second fret, index finger on the third string, second fret, middle finger on the second string, second fret. Some find this fingering easier to manage.

Here's my favorite fingering for A major. Hold all three strings - fourth, third and second - down at the second fret with your index finger. A half-barre again. More difficult at first, but very valuable in the long run.

Which is the correct fingering? All of them. Our aim is to produce a collection of tones called A major. How you hold the strings down is up to you. Work first with the fingering that makes the most sense. Then work at the others. There may come a time when you will need them. There will come a time when each fingering will become easier to achieve.

F

In C, your ring finger is on the fifth string, third fret, middle finger on the fourth string, second fret, your index finger on the second string, first fret. To get to F, leave your index finger where it is, and move the other two fingers toward the floor as you hold your guitar, until your ring finger is on the fourth string, third fret, and your middle finger is on the third string, second fret.

Practice making this two-finger change a few times, or a dozen times, leaving your index finger on the second string, first fret all the while. That finger is common to both C and F shapes. Do it over and over until you begin to get more comfortable with it.

Here comes the hard part. With your fretting hand in our F position, you must somehow, lay your index finger flat to cover both the first and second strings at the first fret. Impossible? Just difficult. 

Here's another approach to making the chord form F. Take your fretting hand off the guitar altogether, and start again. Begin by pinching the neck of your guitar between your thumb and index finger. Your thumb ought to be somewhere on the back of the neck where the first fret would be if the first fret were on the back of the neck. Now your index finger ought to be able to lay flat across the first and second strings at the first fret. You won't need to squeeze too hard, just get your hand in that position and inspect it. There ought to be a lot of space between the palm of your fretting hand the the back of the neck of your guitar. 

Also, see if you can keep the two joints closest to the tip of your index finger straight as it lays across the first and second strings. Those two joints may bend a little as you make the long reach to the fourth string, third fret with your ring finger. Add your middle finger to the third string, second fret. When you are satisfied that you've done everything you can to get your hand in this difficult chord position, take it off and do it again. And again.

Next, it's time to F from some of our other chords. C and G are good ones to begin with. Make up some exercises like the ones we've used before and hang in there. Some find F to be really tough. When you add your strum, begin strumming F from the fourth string.

Two or more strings held down with one finger of your fretting hand is called a barre, or in our case, a half-barre. A full barre usually refers to holding down all six strings with one finger, as when making barre chords. We'll get to those later. 

I've seen beginning students make this F shape, complete with half-barre, on the first or second try and able to get all four strings to sound clearly. It's not common, but it's not uncommon either. 

Making the chord form F, and changing smoothly from chord form to chord form is again, an issue of finger strength and coordination. So far we've become acquainted with D, A7, G, C & F. If you're not happy with the speed and accuracy of your chord changes, or some of your strings are muffled or buzzing when you strum, think about the letter P. As in Practice.

C

Let's review the shape fragment we referred to earlier as being common to both D and G major. We'll use this same two-finger shape as the basis for the chord forms C and F. 

First, get familiar again with the D major form. Practice again, changing from D to G and back. 

When in the G position, your ring finger is on the sixth string, third fret, your middle finger on the fifth string, second fret, and your pinky on the first string, third fret.

To get to C, remove your pinky from the first string, leaving the other two fingers on the fret board. Move them each towards the floor as you hold your guitar, so your ring finger is on the fifth string, third fret, and your middle finger is on the fourth string, second fret. Already your index finger is in the air somewhere around the first fret. Put it on the second string, first fret and there you go, C major. 

Practice some chord exercise to work out the glitches when changing to C from other chords. G to C is a little easier, D to C a little more difficult. So is A7 to C a little more difficult. Begin your strum in C from the fifth string, begin your strum in G from the sixth string:

G    G    C    C

C    C    G    G

Repeat for a minute or two. Or three. When you are satisfied you can remember where your fingers are supposed to go by looking at them, and not a chord picture on a page or screen, you've done something. 

Begin your strum in C from the fifth string, begin your strum in D from the fourth string:

D    D    C    C

C    C    D    D

Practice each exercise again, this time listening to the sound. Work at fixing up muffled or buzzing strings. Work at being able to change chords right on the first beat of measures three and seven. If you can't, slow down to a tempo you can handle. Speed will come. Next cut the duration of each exercise from eight measures to four, like this:

G    G    C    C

G    G    C    C

And:

D    D    C    C

D    D    C    C

Spending five or ten or fifteen minutes at this sort of thing is a long time. But five or ten or fifteen minutes is all it takes for your fingers to begin remembering the positions. With that, the speed and accuracy of your chord changing will improve.