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Chords 101
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Everything you wanted to know about chords and strums (but were afraid to ask)
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Troubleshooting
If your chord sounds jangly and odd, first check that you have the right fingers on the right strings (use that chord diagram!). If it sounds good except for a few muted or buzzing sounds, here are a few things to try. First, check your finger pressure. Make sure you are applying enough pressure to the strings to make them ring clearly—but not too much pressure, you don’t want to start any repetitive stress injuries. And don’t forget to trim your nails—long nails can make even pressure and good hand position difficult.
If you’re still having trouble, take a look at your hand position: your left thumb should be situated behind the neck of the guitar, preferably at the fattest part of the neck. If your thumb is creeping toward the top of the neck, try moving it down and notice what happens to your fingers. They should roll out, away from the neck. This will help your fingers rest only on the strings they are fretting—when a finger touches another string even lightly, it will deaden the sound of that string. Notice your wrist, as well. If you imagine a string tied to it, pulling it gently toward the floor, it should also help your hand to rotate out.
Last but not least, note your guitar position. Many beginners are tempted to hold the guitar slanted on their laps so they can see their left-hand fingers, but this makes good hand position difficult. Try to hold the guitar perpendicular to your legs (if you’re sitting down). You may have to crane your neck a little to see your fingers, but you’ll find it much easier to make the chords ring.
Once you’ve made all these adjustments, try playing through the chord one string at a time to ferret out any trouble spots, and you should be good to go. If your fingers feel tender after all this effort, never fear—in just a few weeks you’ll build up some helpful calluses, the mark of a veteran guitar player.
Let’s put this all together with Example 1. Strum through the G chord four times in each measure (delineated by the thin vertical lines). Each diagonal slash represents a beat, and you strum once per beat, making a grand total of 16 strums. Start at the low E (sixth) string and strum down through the high E (first) string. It’s a good idea to tap your foot once for each strum, counting “one two three four, one two three four” (this will come in handy later). Try to keep a steady, even rhythm.
  Example 1
Example 1, Played Slowly
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