Stop 2 of 6
Three major chords: A, D and E
The most used open chords and where every finger goes.
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Stop 2 of 6
The most used open chords and where every finger goes.
With one chord you can create a mood; with three, you can tell a story. A, D and E are perhaps the three most used open major chords in rock, folk, pop and country, and together they form a "family" that sounds good in almost any order. In this stop you learn where every finger goes, which strings must not ring, and why.
Listen to the whole family, one bar per chord. This is a : a series of chords that follow one another and start again.
Notice how E seems to "ask" to go back to A, and how everything settles when it arrives. That feeling of tension and rest is why this family shows up in so many songs. Tap each diagram to hear them separately:
Start with the easiest, because you already know most of it:
The three fingers form a small stepped triangle. Finger 1 is the one that usually fails: it tends to lie flat and mute string 2. Curve it well and land on its tip, very close to the fret.
A asks you to fit three fingers into the same fret, on strings 4, 3 and 2. Fret 2 isn't very wide, so the fingers have to stagger a little: one sits closer to the fret and another slightly behind. That's normal; what matters is that all three strings ring.
String 6 has an x: don't play it. Start the strum on open string 5, which is the note A, the root.
There isn't a single right way to play A. These are the three most common:
Pick one to start with (1-2-3 or 2-1-3) and stick to it this week. Switching fingerings every day confuses your hand.
D is played on the four high strings only. Its root, D, is open string 4:
The three fingers draw a triangle pointing towards the bridge. Finger 3 has the longest stretch: let your hand rotate a little so it lands comfortably.
String 4, Open: D3 · 1 · Scale tone
Listen to what happens if you strum all six strings with the D shape:
The first one sounds muddy and heavy: open string 6 (E) doesn't belong to the D chord. That's why keeping the x strings quiet has its own name, , and there are three ways to do it:
| Chord | Lowest string | Its note | Strings that don't ring |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | 6 | E | none |
| A | 5 | A | 6 |
| D | 4 | D | 6 and 5 |
In a down-strum, the lowest string sounds first and is the one you hear most. That's why it should be the : the chord then sounds solid and clear. In today's three chords, the lowest note matches the chord's name (E on 6, A on 5, D on 4). If you let string 5 (A) ring in D, it's not a serious error, since A is part of the chord, but it changes the bass and the chord feels less settled. String 6 (E), on the other hand, isn't even a note of the chord and clashes with it.
All three chords share the same rules. Go over them before practising:
For each chord (E, A, D):
Note which one is hardest: it gets the most minutes tomorrow.
Goal: Place each chord 5 times in a row with every string ringing clean when played one by one.
Strum each chord four times down, one per click. On the fourth strum, start thinking about the next chord. If you don't make the change in time, don't stop: strum whatever you have and keep going. Lower the tempo rather than stopping.
Goal: Play the whole sequence 4 times in a row at 60 BPM, four strums per chord, without stopping the metronome.
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