The best way to learn the chords is to learn chord theory so that when you see a specific chord you know what notes that chord is made up of. Here's a hint....practice arpeggios.
You usually, but not always, want to play the root or tonic on beat 1. For the other beats you can play the other notes in the chord.
When first starting out the root and fifth ( fifth note of the scale ) are pretty safe bets. Next, you can add the third, but you will need to know when to play a major third ( third note of the scale ), for example, take the G major chord. G is the root, B is the third, D is the fifth. Once you learn the pattern ( fingering ) you can use the same pattern over any major triad ( three note chord ).
For Gm, the G is still the root, and D is still the fifth. However, now the third is Bb ( a minor third ). This pattern is the same for all minor triads.
7th chords add an extra note, the 7th note from the scale.
I hope this helps.
I can recommend books if you are interested....
__________________ -rodney |