C major is the granddaddy of all guitar chords, so we better start playing it right away.
I often don’t resort to C major early on with my beginning students because it involves stretching the fingers a bit, and also requires the fretting fingers to come down very vertically on the fingertips unless non-vertical fingers accidentally mute other tapes.
But let’s live dangerously-C major is for us.
To do C major, in case you forgot: Place your index finger on the first fret of the second string. Then, place your middle finger on the second fret of the fourth string. Finally, place your ring finger on the third fret of the fifth string. Play all the strings on the guitar except the sixth string. Your dad! C major!
Now, if you can do C major in what we call “first position,” which is the section of the guitar fingerboard closest to the head of the guitar where the strings meet at the tuning pegs, then you’re more than halfway. . In fact, it’s easier to play that same chord shape anywhere else on the guitar. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Without going into a bunch of inevitably confusing music theory stuff, I won’t be able to tell you exactly what chords you’re about to play using just that C major form. I’ll refer to the chords we play as “some kind of” whatever chords with lyrics we’re doing. Just stick with me on this and you’ll be making sweet music in no time.
So this is what we’re going to do. Start with your C chord. Play it normally and make sure you enjoy it. Then slide your three fretted fingers up two frets toward the sound hole. This makes a kind of D chord. Go ahead and strum the chord with your fingers now two frets each. This places your index finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string, your middle finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string, and your ring finger on the 5th fret of the 5th string.
Once you’ve gotten a little bored playing that D chord, slide your fingers up so that your ring finger is on the 10th fret of the fifth string. The other fingers remain in exactly the same relationship to each other, so they still look like the original fingering for the C major chord we started with.
Play this G chord – enjoy the new and unusual combination of high notes with open strings.
Then slide your fingers down now two frets toward the head of the guitar. This places your ring finger on the 8th fret of the 5th string with the other fingers once again maintaining the C-shaped orientation.
This is a kind of F chord.
So right there you have four different positions where you can play the basic C major chord shape for great results that immediately allow you to 1) play different sounds and 2) learn to slide up and down the neck of Guitar.
I wrote a song a few years ago using exactly this sequence of chord changes, and it sounds a lot harder than it really is. Let’s just say non-guitarists will totally buy into your parlor trick if you play this C-shaped sliding chord sequence at your next backyard cookout or campfire party.
