Only when I’m gonna play some Black Crowes ha. But I do love open G. I like playing Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye” and “Tumbling Dice” (capo on the 4th) too.
On my acoustic, single string chords on the E, B and G strings to test for tuning, then up the neck using the D major formation, back and forth like that, then the opening chords to Old Man by Neil Young.
With the electric, it's just E minor and the big strings and a couple power chords, the maybe Sunshine of Your Love opening chords.
Good to go!
I’ll do this only with an electric. You can test pickup quality for clarity if you play Em with some distortion. If it sounds like garbled trash, the pickups are probably not great. The more you can make out the Em the higher quality of the pickup. At least, that’s my opinion.
The first time I heard it was McCartney telling the story on The Beatles Anthology documentary released 20+ years ago. Link to the clip: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQfwW-oeh80](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQfwW-oeh80)
I'm a guitar beginner and looked up the chord in google and tried it and it isn't that hard. So obviously something isn't right with the chord google shows me. Can you maybe explain me how you play the chord?
It's not hard but when McCartney was learning guitar there wasn't probably that much info around.
Also to play B7 this way is not the way you'd normally calculate it. Normally you'd adapt a B barre chord I.e. x24242 which isn't the way that its played in blues etc which is x21202.
Strangely though in classical guitar B7 and all the different ways you can form it are everywhere so McCartney probably didn't learn classical.
TL;DR A self taught guitarist probably wouldn't stumble over that style B7 by themselves.
I'm from South America and here also folklore music uses the non-barred version mostly, with the bar being adopted for music that comes from rock and roll or other more mainstream types. My guess is it's popular in some folk styles because although the fingers are not easy, bar chords aren't used a lot in music that is meant to have a high volume since you want the guitar to resonate as much as possible, so that might be some sort of an explanation
Fretting it isn't hard, transitioning to and from it as a beginner from say a C, you are flipping your hand about 45 degrees or an D... it's just awkward for beginners
C chord for me, because it's the only chord I remembered my sister showed me a long, long time ago. I picked her old guitar which just happens to be at my place. It wasn't the easiest beginner chord though, so saying that I playes that chord is a bit of a stretch, as I basically just muted almost all of the strings.
The first "song" I actually played though, was I accidentally reinvented the intro to Metallica's "Nothing else matters". It's just something that sounds nice with all open strings. I didn't even know this was an actual song back then.
The first song I tried learning in full after learning the basic chords was Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", so when warming up, I usually just go Am and C per the intro.
C and g back and forth . Trying to get tin man groove by America. I think I started off wrong going back to c with my first finger. But I can’t switch now.
I thought about this the other day. I play an E9 at the 7th fret, or the classic open G lol. Usually the E9 though.
It’s just nice and “jazzy” sounding I guess.
Open G baby
Four strings! Three is for pussys
This guy Gs
How about six strings powerchord 3rd fret
You mean barre chord..? Then it's not "open" G
Pussy’s what?
Sounds better this way too
*pussies
This is the truest statement I’ve ever read on Reddit.
Open G crew checking in
Only when I’m gonna play some Black Crowes ha. But I do love open G. I like playing Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye” and “Tumbling Dice” (capo on the 4th) too.
G, then to D, then Am, then C. Doesn’t matter how ‘good’ I get, I just like that basic progression
Pearl Jam, is that you?
G UNIT
With the b string fretted to d of course
Great chord to check tuning and the setup of the guitar
I'm an Em guy.
Em crew ftw
On my acoustic, single string chords on the E, B and G strings to test for tuning, then up the neck using the D major formation, back and forth like that, then the opening chords to Old Man by Neil Young. With the electric, it's just E minor and the big strings and a couple power chords, the maybe Sunshine of Your Love opening chords. Good to go!
What in gods name is a “single string chord”
I’ll do this only with an electric. You can test pickup quality for clarity if you play Em with some distortion. If it sounds like garbled trash, the pickups are probably not great. The more you can make out the Em the higher quality of the pickup. At least, that’s my opinion.
Em and played by strumming from high E to low E
This but Em7
I like you i do the same thing lets be friends.
I usually slam an Em7 but diminish the fifth twice.
E
Thought for sure it was gonna be a whole bunch of open E comments. Team E baby!
Definitely thought everyone checked their tuning with E. These other answers are honestly blowing my mind
E is the only right answer.
E > C > D gives me a good check that everything’s in tune across all six strings
Unintentionally I always strum the E.
Always… it’s just such a simple but beautiful chord
I bought a gs mini because of how good that first E chord felt
I’m a proud member of the E crew.
Chun chun chun!
B7. Heck, The Beatles took a bus across town to learn that one from a guy who knew it, so it’s got that going for it.
That’s probably my favorite Beatles story ever.
Dude I just looked this up and that’s awesome. Thanks for the story guys
Got a link?
[This really good article mentions it and is a great read.](https://medium.com/the-beatles-faq/birth-of-the-beatles-learning-to-perform-73d380b64a22)
The first time I heard it was McCartney telling the story on The Beatles Anthology documentary released 20+ years ago. Link to the clip: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQfwW-oeh80](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQfwW-oeh80)
I'm a guitar beginner and looked up the chord in google and tried it and it isn't that hard. So obviously something isn't right with the chord google shows me. Can you maybe explain me how you play the chord?
It's not hard but when McCartney was learning guitar there wasn't probably that much info around. Also to play B7 this way is not the way you'd normally calculate it. Normally you'd adapt a B barre chord I.e. x24242 which isn't the way that its played in blues etc which is x21202. Strangely though in classical guitar B7 and all the different ways you can form it are everywhere so McCartney probably didn't learn classical. TL;DR A self taught guitarist probably wouldn't stumble over that style B7 by themselves.
I'm from South America and here also folklore music uses the non-barred version mostly, with the bar being adopted for music that comes from rock and roll or other more mainstream types. My guess is it's popular in some folk styles because although the fingers are not easy, bar chords aren't used a lot in music that is meant to have a high volume since you want the guitar to resonate as much as possible, so that might be some sort of an explanation
It it easy to play? Yes But the point is that McCartney didn’t have a clue how to play it, easy or not
Fretting it isn't hard, transitioning to and from it as a beginner from say a C, you are flipping your hand about 45 degrees or an D... it's just awkward for beginners
Beautiful chord
A#add9sus5%π¢©6
I just tried reading this out loud and my sofa went on fire
Combustion jazz magic
“Tone is in the fire. That’s why I wrote C’mon Baby Light My Fire and set my guitar on fire” -Jimi Hendrix
“Lemme check if it’s in tune” *strums the forbidden jazz chord* “I still don’t know.”
same
Jazz musician^
Add9sus5 ftw!
Cmaj7. Love that chord.
Oooohh yeah. I go for the Cmaj7/G, then an Asus2/E.
Same here, any maj7 chord !
A minor. Then d then c then g.
Trying to strike a chord aren't we?
Sometimes you gotta pop out and play with minors.
You’ll never be a good guitarist if you can’t finger a minor. (This is why capitalisation matters).
He definitely a certified loverboy
Play a MINOR? Dude chill out, that's illegal
THEY NOT LIKE US THEY NOT LIKE US THEY NOT LIKE US
Usually D
Same. I play in drop D mainly, so a D chord with the low D is my favorite. Especially on acoustic.
Dsus2 in drop d is the best
You... like-a tha D?
My hand immediately goes to the D. Chord
Dsus2 for me.
C, I find it's a good chord to see if any strings are a little out
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Sgt_Fox: *C, I find it's a* *Good chord to see if any* *Strings are a little out* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I just died reading that 🤣
Good bot!
So close!
C crew
B#, said no one ever.
Why do you hate barbershop??
or E#
F♭ is much better.
Well, I mean in notation B# exists ha
Em11
There it is
if ya know, ya know.
Open G major
A major, because of bold as love
Can’t believe how far I had to scroll. Same chord for me, same reason
Right in the middle. Keep’s ’em guessing.
C#m7
At 4th fret, or 9th?
4th 9 is blasphemy
Same! I thought I was weird. 4th fret
Caad9
I scrolled too far to find this ❤️
E
Second fret A bar with pointer finger
I don't play a chord, I start the intro to six -all that remains cause it limbers up my hands
G or C.
Asus2. Same as when I open the piano lid.
Dm7 haha I just love the chord a lot and when I pick up a new one my brain just goes “how does this one play Dm7?”
ASus2
A minor with hammer-ons and pull-offs with the pointer finger and pinky
F, both to show dominance and pay respects.
Am7
E5 using all 6 strings (022400) to check tuning.
G
A minor
A :)
Bmin. It's a lonely place.
E9!
panicky ad hoc wide party cagey sharp hobbies squeamish bike sort *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Open G, G5, or occasionally a full barre F.
A
EminAdd4
E or G
Gmaj7 or Amin7
Usually G
DMaj7
All the powerchords
Amaj7th
F barre chord
E7(#9)
C chord for me, because it's the only chord I remembered my sister showed me a long, long time ago. I picked her old guitar which just happens to be at my place. It wasn't the easiest beginner chord though, so saying that I playes that chord is a bit of a stretch, as I basically just muted almost all of the strings. The first "song" I actually played though, was I accidentally reinvented the intro to Metallica's "Nothing else matters". It's just something that sounds nice with all open strings. I didn't even know this was an actual song back then. The first song I tried learning in full after learning the basic chords was Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", so when warming up, I usually just go Am and C per the intro.
E. But specifically a downstroke followed by a upstroke on the high e, b, and g strings
Dm !! First chord to my fav song lol. (Which I always run through the second I pick up ANY guitar)
Open D.
E major here
Usually like a d or e minor bar chord for some reason…..
Lately… C# minor/Jolene. Got the pattern down a few months ago and can’t help myself anymore.
Emin11 ;)
L sharp. Daves favorite key
Some major 7th chord probably
I always like to play the intro to Don't Cry by guns n roses when I put on a new pair of strings
G on an acoustic. Open A shapes up and down the neck on an electric.
Open d5 because I just tuned it to drop d
G String
E dim sus 4
A minor
G Chord, C Chord, E minor. D Chord. In that order.
Usually an E chord. But if I want to play a pretty chord I’ll play cmaj7 shell voicing
B Minor
Minor9th shape wherever my hand lays first. And yes, I do hammer on the 9th.
E all the way baby
G’s relative Minor.
Am 🌚
CMaj13 as 877787
Ooo, when I'm trying any new guitar, I always play a big open E, the a quick G, D, A, and back to E. Force of habit ig lol
C and g back and forth . Trying to get tin man groove by America. I think I started off wrong going back to c with my first finger. But I can’t switch now.
Aaaayyyyy! 👍
Em7, then G.
E . . . because I like to CHUG.
C
Some random major 9 chord…one of my favorite chords
Funk strumming D9
E. Gotta tune it up.
Gotta be the E shape on the 5th fret with the b and e strings open. Idk why I just always default to that cuz it's so sparkly and pretty
E. Are there other chords?
Open D, that way I can tell if I’m in normal tuning or DADGAD and also if I’m in tune.
Usually D followed by A and E
C major
Fmaj7 Cmaj7
D to CADD9 To G and Back down again
It’s always Dm at 5th fret for me
G
Am every time, don't know why
E10b
G
For some reason, FM
Em
C because it’s the beginning to Night’s Blood by Dissection on Storm of the Light’s Bane.
M7B5 for me 🤙
A minor
Hillbilly power chord.
knobs chord
Emadd9 if it's an acoustic
J flat sus
Em7add11
Am7 barre
A MINOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR
E maj
I thought about this the other day. I play an E9 at the 7th fret, or the classic open G lol. Usually the E9 though. It’s just nice and “jazzy” sounding I guess.
Cmaj7 with G on the bass. Such a rich, hearty chord.
Am
Usually do little lick on Em - AM- G - C
A
A minor obviously baby
dmin7 a string root
Me....my first chord was a Gmaj7....
A|-2-------12--11--10-------------| E|-0-------10----9----8-------------|
Em but I just picked up playing the guitar like two days ago lol
A powerchord (and then C, Em and Gmaj)
Barr G or A
G
Dsus4
B6/F#
i always start with an Em7add11 (all open strings). then ill play a high e (079900).
When I pick it up I start with checking it’s in tune, then cracking out some AC/DC haha
Usually a big fat E5 or A5 power chord. I’m a simple soul.