Your First Open Chords: Em, C, G, and D

E minor, C major, G major, and D major form one of the most useful four-chord sets in beginner guitar — this exact progression (or a close reordering of it) shows up in an enormous number of pop, folk, and rock songs. Learning these four properly, with clean fretting and no buzzing strings, is the single best use of your first few practice sessions.

What you'll need

• A guitar in tune (see the tuning tutorial if you haven't already)
• Fingertips that will be a little sore for the first week or two — that's completely normal

Steps

1. Em (E minor) — the easiest of the four. Place your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the A string (5th string) and your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the D string (4th string). Strum all six strings. This is often the first chord beginners learn because only two fingers are involved.

2. C (C major). Ring finger on the 3rd fret of the A string, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the D string, index finger on the 1st fret of the B string. Strum from the A string down (skip the low E string entirely — it's not part of this chord).

3. G (G major). There are a couple of common fingerings; a beginner-friendly one is: middle finger on the 3rd fret of the low E string, index finger on the 2nd fret of the A string, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the high E string. Strum all six strings.

4. D (D major). Index finger on the 2nd fret of the G string, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the B string. Strum only from the D string down (4 strings) — the low E and A strings aren't part of this chord.

5. Check every string individually. After placing each shape, pluck one string at a time instead of strumming the whole chord. If a string buzzes or sounds muted, your finger is probably too close to the fret wire (move it closer to the fret) or you're accidentally touching an adjacent string with the side of a finger.

6. Practice one clean strum per chord, then move to the next. Don't chase speed yet — the goal right now is that every chord rings out clearly when you strum it once. Speed comes later, once the shapes are automatic (see the "Changing Chords Smoothly" tutorial).