Essential Guitar Chords Every Player Must Know

 

📘 For Beginners: What Are Open Chords and the CAGED System?

Open chords are the first thing most guitarists learn. They’re called “open” because they use open strings — meaning you don’t need to press down every note. These chords are easy to play, sound great, and are used in literally thousands of songs. The “CAGED” system refers to five basic chord shapes — C, A, G, E, and D — which form the foundation for learning the entire fretboard. If you learn just these five, you can move them up the neck and unlock every other chord shape.

📗 For Intermediate Players: Why the CAGED System Is So Powerful

The CAGED system isn’t just for beginners — it’s a complete framework for visualising chords, scales, and arpeggios across the neck. Each shape (C, A, G, E, D) is connected to scale positions and arpeggios. When you understand how each shape links together, you can transpose open chords into barre chords, build solos over chord tones, and map out harmonies in any key. It’s a roadmap for the fretboard — and this chord chart gives you the first five building blocks.

BASic guitar chords

🔍 Chord Types and How They’re Built

Let’s break down the chord types shown on the chart:

  • Major Chord (1–3–5)
    Happy and strong — the most common chord type in Western music.

  • Minor Chord (1–b3–5)
    Emotional and a bit sad — used in blues, rock, pop, metal, etc.

  • Dominant 7th (1–3–5–b7)
    Classic blues/funk/jazz chord. Adds tension and grit.

  • Major 7th (1–3–5–7)
    Dreamy and jazzy — rich sound, popular in R&B and soul.

  • Minor 7th (1–b3–5–b7)
    Bluesy and moody, a softer version of the minor chord.

🧠 Chords by Root Shape: C, A, G, E, D

Each row in the chart follows a CAGED root shape, showing how these chords relate to the 5 foundation positions.

🔸 C Shape Chords

  • C Major

  • C Minor

  • C7

  • Cmaj7

  • Cm7

These are classic beginner shapes, often tricky due to the finger stretch — but super useful for theory understanding.

🔸 A Shape Chords

  • A Major

  • A Minor

  • A7

  • Amaj7

  • Am7

These are some of the most used open chords. A Major and A Minor especially show up in loads of pop and rock songs.

🔸 G Shape Chords

  • G Major

  • G Minor

  • G7

  • Gmaj7

  • Gm7

G Major is a staple, but G Minor and G7 start getting tricky — often barre or partial barre shapes.

🔸 E Shape Chords

  • E Major

  • E Minor

  • E7

  • Emaj7

  • Em7

The E shape is the most powerful in the CAGED system — it becomes the basis of barre chords when moved up the neck.

🔸 D Shape Chords

  • D Major

  • D Minor

  • D7

  • Dmaj7

  • Dm7

These are bright, high-register chords that sit well for rhythm playing in pop, folk, and indie.

🔁 Practice Tips

  1. Play Through Each Column
    Practice all “Major” chords in a row (C, A, G, E, D), then all “Minor”, then all “7th” and so on.

  2. Say the Formula Out Loud
    As you play each chord, say the degrees: “1–3–5” or “1–b3–5” etc. This drills in the theory.

  3. Convert to Barre Chords
    Take the A or E shape and slide it up the neck with a barre — this transforms open chords into movable ones.

  4. Transpose a Song
    Pick a 3-chord song and transpose it to a different key using CAGED. Example: G–C–D becomes A–D–E.

📚 Songs That Use These Chords

You’ll find these chords in countless classics:

  • C, G, Am, F — used in Let It Be (The Beatles)

  • E, A, B7 — the backbone of Blues in E

  • D, A, Bm, G — shows up in Wonderwall (Oasis)

🧱 Final Thoughts

Don’t treat these as just “chords to memorise.” They’re the foundation of how the fretboard is organised. Every scale, solo, or advanced concept you learn later will tie back into one of these shapes. Get these under your fingers, and you're building a solid future for your guitar playing.