In previous chapter we learnt four easy chords- ‘East G’, ‘Easy G7′, ‘Easy C’ and ‘Easy Gmaj7′ – meaning chords simplified from the form in which they usually encountered. Now we will learn two proper chords‘D’ and ‘A7′. Strictly speaking, its full name would be ‘A dominant 7th









Taking each of the chords in turn, play slowly through the chords from lowest string to highest string listening closely to each note produced.We want a clear note from each staring.In order to do this,strings must be held down with the tips of the fingers – the nails of the left hand must be kept very short.
Notice that the lowest note in the ‘D’ chord ,the open 4th string is a ‘D’ note and the lowest note in the ‘A7″ chord is the open 5th string, which is an ‘A’ note.
This holds true for all the basic chords-the lowerst note in chord is the note the chord is ‘built from’ and this chord lowest note gives the chord its letter name. You can use this to remind you how many strings to play for a chord. For examples,if, when fingering a ‘D’ chord, you can’t recall hoe many strings to play, remember that the lowest note has to be ‘D’ note so the lowest string must be the 4th string, making a ‘D; chord a four string chord.
Once the notes in the chords are sounding clearly, you can practice the change between ‘D’ and ‘A7′. After strumming ‘D’ once, lift finger 1 and 2 from the strings, then relax the 3rd finger so it is no longer pressing the string against e=the fretboard but is still in contact with the string. Then slide the 3rd finger down from the 3rd fret to the 2nd fret and press the string against the fretboard – it i now holding down the correct note for the A7′ chord. Using a finger a finger like this is called using it as a guide finger since it guides you into the next chord.Remember to relax the pressure before sliding the finger to the next note,otherwise you will produce an unwanted sliding sound, but you don’t relax the pressure so much that the finger lifts from the string, otherwise you won’t be able to use it as a guide guide finger. Now place the 2nd finger on the 4th string 2nd fret and you are fingering the ‘A7′ chord.
The 3rd finger can also be used as a guide finger when changing from ‘A7′ to ‘D’. After strumming ‘A7′ once, lift the 2nd finger, slide the 3rd finger from the 2nd fret to the 3rd fret then place finger 1 and 2 for the ‘D’ chord. Once this technique of using the 3rd finger as a guide finger when changing between ‘D’ and ‘A7′ has been absorbed, practice the following chord progression.
D///|A7///:||D
Remember, this means strum ‘D’ four times, strum ‘A7′ four times, repeat from the beginning, then end with a single strum of the ‘D’ chord. Practice slowly and tap your foot on the beat(ie four times to each bar). We are aiming to make the chord changes in time with the strumming and there is more chance of doing this if the exercise is played slowly.
The ‘G’ Chord  


Put your index finger on the ‘A’ string 2nd fret. Then put your middle finger finger on the ‘E’ bass string 3rd fret. Then put ring finger on  ‘E’ treble string 3rd fret.
Before we tackle a chord progression joining together ‘D’, ‘G’ and ‘A7′, practice the change betwwen ‘D’ and ‘G’ thus: finger the ‘D’ chord and strum it once. Now lift fingers 1 and 2 but do not lift the 3rd finger – the 3rd finger stays on the same note note for ‘D’ and ‘G’ chords. Then place the fingers 1,2 and 4 to form ‘G’ chord. This will take lot of practice before you can do it confidently and accurately! Strum the ‘G’ chord once, then lift fingers 1,2 and 4 and form ‘D’ chord. Again, this will require lot of practice.
Once the change from ‘D’ to ‘G’ and from ‘G’ to ‘D’ is OK, strum through the following chord progression which uses ‘D’, ‘A7′ and ‘G’ – this is a common progression found in various forms in folk, country and pop music. Take care in bar 7 where the ‘D’ chord is strummed twice instead of four times, and is followed by the ‘A7″ chord which is also strummed twice.
D///|G///|D//|A7///|D///|G///|D/A7/|D///:||
Alternate Bass Pattern
All the chord progression encountered so far far have been played with down strokes, strumming all the notes in each chord. The chord progression shown overleaf uses ‘D’, A7′ and ‘G’ and involves picking out a bass note(this is, a note on strings 6,5 or 4) then strumming the top three strings in the chord. For example, finger the ‘D’ chord. Play the 4th string on its own then strum the top three strings of the ‘D’ chord three times. Next, play the 5th string on its own (normally the 5th string doesn’t belong with a ‘D’ chord but it does in this case), strum the top three strings three times, then repeat from the beginning, starting with the open 4th string. Notice hoe the bass note, or lowest note, alternates between the 4th string and the 5th string , hence the term ‘alternate bass pattern’. This type of accomplishment is found is country and folk music.
This is easiest to play when the progression is written out in music notation and tablature with the corresponding chord names. Notice how it says ‘D’ for the first four bares (bar numbers are given above the  treble clef at the beginning of each line) – simply finger the ‘D’ chord then all the notes you need are contained within the ‘D’ chord. Again, use all down-strokes with the plectrum and play slowly. ‘Let notes ring’ means just what it says – let the notes ring on until they die away naturally.
The ‘D7′ Chord
The ‘D7′ chord can be thought of as the ‘reversed shape’ of the ‘D’ chord.

Practice changing between ‘D’ and ‘D7′ in the following progression. Unfortunately, this change involves rearranging fingers 1,2 and 3with no scope for using a guide finger. Listen closely to the difference in sound between the two chords.
D///|D///|D7///|D7///:||D
The ‘D’ chord, being a major chord, sounds happy and positive. In contrast, the ‘D7′ chord sounds slightly tense and introduces an element of expectation – in musical terms, the ‘D7′ chord is ‘unresolved’ and is resolved by changing to a ‘G’ chord, as in the following progression. When executing the ‘G’ to ‘A7′ change, use the 3rd finger as a guide finger – that is, don’t lift lift it from the 2nd string but slide it down a fret leaving it on the correct note for ‘A7′
D///|D///|D7///|D7///|G///|G///|A7///|A7///|:||D

The ‘E’ Chord

The ‘E’ chord is commonly used by guitarists to check their tunig since it uses all six strings and contains three open strings.

As recommended earlier, whenever you learn a new chord you should play through it slowly, from lowest note to highest note, making sure all the notes sound clearly.

The ‘E7′ Chord

Learning a musical instrument not only involves the physical technique of moving your finger in the appropriate manner, but also of developing your ear to hear, for example, the differences between different types of chord.Play ‘E’ Chord four times then play ‘E7′ four times.Then you will observe the slight difference in both.
E///|E7///|E///|E7///:||E

The ‘C’ ,’C7′ and ‘F’ Chord
Generally speaking, ‘F’ is the hardest of all the basic open chords. Technically it isn’t really an open chord since it doesn’t use any open string, but it’s a very useful chord to include here since it enables chord progressions to be played in the common key of ‘C’ , the main chord of which are ‘C’ , ‘Am’ , ‘F’ and ‘G’.



‘F’ is a tricky chord because it involves a ‘partial barre’, A ‘barre’ is when a finger, normally the first string, is used to hold down two os more notes at the same fret on different strings. A ‘full barre’ is when the 1st finger holds down anywhere from two to five strings.
For this ‘F’ chord, the 1st finger holds down string 1 and 2 at the 1st fret.
Unlike when playing on one string at a time, the tip of the first finger has to be laid flat across the fretboard, running parallel to the fret. Don’t use more of the finger than necessary, so the first finger should not touch the 3rd string.
The change from ‘C’ to ‘C7′ is straightforward – all you need do is add the 4th finger to the 3rd string 3rd fret. Here’s a progression with ‘C’, ‘C7′ and ‘F’:
C///|C7///|F///|F///|:||C

The ‘G7′ Chord

The ‘G7′ chord is the one remaining chord from the 15 basic open chord shapes.

Here’s a common chord progression involving ‘G’ , ‘G7′ , ‘C’ .
G///|G7///|C///|C///|:||G

Now here’s a common chord progression involving ‘C’ and ‘G7′. Notice how the ‘G7′ shape is similar to the ‘C’ shape but ‘widened’ , as it were.
C///|C///|G7///|G7///|:||C

hope you understand, keep practicing …..

The ‘A’ Chord


Here are two ways of fingerring the 'A' chord: the traditional fingering on the left, with the alternative fingering on the right. Try both. Those this large fingers and those playing on an acoustic guitar may find the alternative first fingering easier.

 Here's a progression involving 'A', 'D' and 'E'. Whichever fingering for 'A' you are using, the 3rd finger can be used as a guide finger on the 2nd string when changing from 'A' to 'D' and from 'D' to 'A'. If you are using the alternative first fingering for 'A', the 1st finger can be used as a guide finger when changing from 'A' to 'E' and from 'E' to 'A'.
A///|D///|A///|E///|A///|D///|A/E/:||A