This week we introduce two new chord shapes.  They are very similar, so once you learn one, the other is very easy to learn as well.

Starting with the E Major chord, sometimes written simply as “E”, you can form this chord with your middle and ring fingers on the the second fret of the A and D strings just as you might with an E Minor chord.  But now add the first finger to the first fret of the G string.  That’s E Major.

A Minor, or Am, is the same basic shape, but your fingers are on the D, G, and B strings.

Playing from E Major to A Minor is a good way to get a feel for the chords without sounding too repetitive.  The two chords work together to give a sort of “Spanish” style sound.

If you want a beat to play along to, you can use the ones from Guitar Lesson 1.