A Guide for Beginners - Major Chords - Page 5

by Christopher Sung The E Major Chord
I think the E Major chord is one of most powerful chords you can play. The low string (6th string) on your guitar is an E, and in this sense, it is the lowest sounding chord you can play. It has a really solid sound. The E chord is the kind of chord that you can play while you jump around your house, banging the hell out of it. Also, whenever I tune my guitar, as a final check, I always play an E chord and see how it sounds. The fingering for an E chord is shown below:

Thus, the chart for the E chord above tells us the following:

• 1st String - Play it open
• 2nd String - Play it open
• 3rd String - Put your index finger on the 1st fret
• 4th String - Put your ring finger on the 2nd fret
• 5th String - Put your middle finger on the 2nd fret
• 6th String - Play it open

So try it out. Put your fingers in place and strum it. It's OK if some notes don't ring. That's natural. Like the G chord, this is another chord in which we get to play all 6 strings, so you don't have to be precise in your strumming.

Try playing the music example below, set your loop count to "Forever" in your preferences at the bottom of the page, hit the play button, wait for the music to start, and try to play along with the example. It'll help you become more comfortable with the chord.