As they ring against the fretted notes, the open strings are crucial to the sound and feel of these chords. Practise each chord first by strumming, then picking each string individually to check that ...

A chord is when you play two or more guitar strings at once, either by pressing down on the strings behind the frets or by leaving them ‘open’, ie, un-fretted.

In blues ‘dominant’ 7 chords (A7 or D7 for example) are more common than basic major, minor and sus chords. The A7, D7 and E9 shapes shown here are all you need for a 12-bar blues improv in the key of ...