Hey guys,
In this post I’m going to share with you a brief overview of the first of the first four Jamorama lessons and by the end you’ll know three chords and be able to play your first song (even if you’ve never played guitar before).
Although the steps are easy, you will need to practise for a little over a week before you can get everything sounding perfect (this is how long it took me, but you may be able to do it quicker). Set aside an hour a day and leave your guitar somewhere close by throughout the week so that if you find yourself with a spare five minutes, you can pick it up and practise.
Step 1: The A Major Chord
Your first objective is to learn the A Major chord. The video below shows you how to do this:
The neck of your guitar is divided into what are called ‘frets’, each separated by a metal bar. The fret that is furthest away is the first fret, the next closest is the second fret, then the third fret etc.
Your guitar will (most probably) have six strings. As you hold the guitar, the bottom string (closest to your knee) is the first string, the next one up is the second string, then the third string etc.
To play the A Major chord, place the first finger (index finger) of your left hand on the fourth string up in the second fret, your second finger on the third string in the second fret and your third finger on the second string in the second fret. Then strum downwards from the fifth string so that strings 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 ring (it’s not a big deal if you accidentally hit the sixth string, but try not to).
Strum the A Major chord to the rhythm of 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 (strumming each time you say a number).
After doing this a few times, take your left hand off the neck of the guitar and then try to replace it in exactly the same place and play the A Major chord again. It will take several attempts before you can do this. Then try to speed up the time it takes you play the chord from not touching the neck. When you can do it within two seconds, move on to Step 2.
NOTE: You will probably notice that the tips of your fingers are beginning to get sore and hurt a little from pressing down on the strings. When I started out, I got a little worried and thought I’d destroyed the nerve endings in my fingers but was assured by a guitar-playing friend that this was normal and over a period of a few weeks, the skin on the tips of my fingers became harder and it no longer hurt to play.
Step 2: The D Major Chord
Your next task is to learn the D Major chord. Check out the video below to see how it’s done:
For this chord, the first finger is placed on the third string of the second fret, the second finger on the first string of the second fret and the third finger on the second string of the third fret. Only the first four strings should be played (downwards from 4 to 3 to 2 to 1).
Again, practice counting and strumming to 1,2,3,4 and going from not touching the guitar with your left hand to playing the D Major chord.
When you can do this well, practice switching between the D Major and A Major chords. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 and on 1 and two strum the A Major chord and and 3 and 4 play the D Major chord. Count very slowly at first and as you come more accustomed to the switch, speed it up.
When you can switch between the two easily in one second or less, move on to step 3.
Step 3: The E Major Chord
The E Major chord is played like this:
Your first finger plays holds down the third string in the first fret, your second finger holds down the fifth string in the second fret and your third finger holds down the fourth string in the second fret. All six strings should be strummed.
Again, count 1, 2, 3, 4 as you strum and then practice speeding up the time it takes you to strum the E Major chord from left hand resting on your knee.
Next, practise switching between A Major and E Major by strumming A Major on counts 1 and 2, then E Major on counts 3 and 4.
Then, practise switching between D Major and E Major by strumming D Major on counts 1 and 2 and E Major on counts 3 and 4.
Finally, practise switching between all three chords by counting to 8 and playing:
- A Major on counts 1 and 2
- D Major on counts 3 and 4
- E Major on counts 5 and 6
- D Major on counts 7 and 8
When you can do this, move onto step 4.
Step 4: Your First Song on Guitar
In this final step, you’re going to learn to play Wild Thing by The Troggs, which uses only the three chords you’ve just learned.
Check out the videos on this page to learn how to play the song.
The first video tells you how to do it and the second video plays the original version of Wild Thing for you to strum along to.
For further lessons, check out Jamorama (it is what I used to learn to play guitar) and check out my review of it here.
