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04 / 04 · Your first chords

Your first guitalele chords

A few clear notes and a steady pulse are enough to make your first practice session worthwhile.

With the strings tuned and the instrument comfortably supported, you can start joining notes into chords. This lesson uses standard A2–D3–G3–C4–E4–A4 tuning.

Read the diagram before making the shape

Our diagrams are horizontal: the beginning of the fretboard is on the left, string 1 is at the top and string 6 is at the bottom. The numbers below the grid identify the frets. A diagram starting farther along the neck shows those actual fret numbers.

  • O means play the string open.
  • X means leave that string silent.
  • A dot shows where to press; numbers 1–4 identify index, middle, ring and little fingers.
  • A thick bar is a barre: one finger presses several strings at the same fret.

Start with Am, then try C

For Am, place fingers on the second fret of strings 5 and 4. Leave the other strings open. Pick each string separately before strumming: this makes it easier to find any accidental muting.

Next, look up C in the chord library. Its main shape uses fret 3 on string 6, fret 2 on string 5 and fret 3 on string 1. Strings 4, 3 and 2 stay open. Move slowly between Am and C, allowing time to place each finger.

Try a ten-minute session

  1. Spend two minutes tuning and picking open strings.
  2. Spend three minutes checking that every note in Am and C rings clearly.
  3. Spend three minutes changing between the two chords with four slow downstrokes each.
  4. Use the final two minutes to repeat the change at a comfortable, steady pace.

Pause if your hand becomes tense or hurts. A short session with relaxed movements gives you more useful practice than forcing a difficult shape. Speed can come later.