Round the campfire, what counts is that the music keeps going. Even experienced players often skip the “proper” textbook shape and use an easier one that sounds almost the same. You can do that too! On every chord page in the app, Easier ways to play it shows such shapes – always with a note about what is different.
Mini chords: just the thin strings
Lots of chords already sound on the four thin strings. You simply don’t strum the low strings. Mini G: just your ring finger on the high E string at the 3rd fret. Mini C: middle finger on the D string at the 2nd fret, index finger on the B string at the 1st fret. Together with D that gives you the three chords for countless songs. The lowest note isn’t the root – it sounds a little lighter, but it is still the same chord.
Hard barre chords have mini forms too: Bm with four fingers on the thin strings (4th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd fret) or Bb with three fingers at the 3rd fret and your index on the high E string at the 1st fret. How the mini F works is explained in barre chords.
Your thumb can help
Lots of guitarists wrap their thumb over the neck to fret the low E string. For thumb G, your thumb presses the E string at the 3rd fret and touches the A string with its tip so it stays quiet. Add just your ring finger on the high E string at the 3rd fret and you have a full G. For thumb F, your thumb goes to the 1st fret and the other fingers play the mini F. With small hands this is hard. Give it a try, but don’t force it.
Leave your fingers where they are
In rock G, your ring and little fingers sit at the 3rd fret on the B and high E strings. Those two simply stay put when you change to Cadd9, Dsus4 or the Em7 with the same two fingers at the 3rd fret (under Em in Easier ways to play it) – only the other fingers move. These chords have slightly different names from G, C, Em and D because an extra note sounds along, but they fit many songs and sound nice and open.
Stand-in chords that sound almost the same
- Fmaj7 instead of F: three fingers, no barre, a softer sound.
- Asus2 instead of A: two fingers, an open sound – neither major nor minor.
- Bm7 instead of Bm: three fingers at the 2nd fret on the A, G and high E strings, soft and almost like Bm.
A capo instead of a barre
If a song is full of barre chords, a capo often helps: it does the barre for you and you play the easy open shapes. The guitar capo explains exactly how. For the songs in the app, the key selector shows which fret works.
All chords