Chords for Bouzouki Lesson 3 - Chords in First Position
Tempo:
119 bpm
Chords used:
C
G
E
D
Dm
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Right, so there's that position.
And now, if you do want to play a D chord that has the major third in it, then you start
with the D chord that I showed you before, just the one finger, and then [F#m] you add in this
note, which is the F sharp on the D string.
[D]
And you know, it could be the F sharp on that D string, or it could be the F sharp on that D string.
Either way, it makes a nice chord.
And sometimes you're going to want a D minor, and that's very simple.
All you have to do is change the major third into a minor third, and major means big, minor means little.
So instead of doing this, [Dm] you do this.
Or same thing on this [F#m] string.
That's major, that's minor.
[G] You can do the same thing with a G chord.
In this case, the third in [B] the chord is represented by that note, which is a B.
So that's the
second fret on the A string.
[G]
And major is big, minor is little, so
[Gm] there's [D] that [E] G minor chord, [D] if you should ever need it.
You'll need it eventually.
Alright, now just in case you need one more chord, because most songs have three chords.
[G] So you've got a G chord, you've got [E] a D chord, in fact you've got a few variations of a D [D] chord.
But another one that's fairly easy to play is a C chord.
So if you put yourself back in that shape that you were using for the G chord, which
is just one finger, and you go one fret above B, one fret above the second fret is the third
fret on the A string, [C] and that'll be a C note.
And once you've got your third finger, well, I told you that normally you would use a second
finger to play the third fret, but in this case, when you're playing chords, you can
kind of make it up.
It's whatever [C] is comfortable, and sometimes you need fingers to go on several strings
at once, so you can see what's comfortable for you.
Anyway, I'm going to use my third finger to play the C [F] natural, and then the first finger
that I had [E] on the A string, I'm just going to move one string over to play it on the D string.
That'll give me an E note.
Now, this is a strange C chord because [Dm] I've still got the [F#] open D string over here, so
if I wanted to play a completely correct C chord, I would try and put a second fret on
both D strings.
So that's one way of playing a C chord.
I think that if [G] you're in the key of G,
[D] [G] [C]
leaving that [E] D string [Dm] open, it's kind of tricky to
do, of course.
You've got to avoid letting this finger touch the open [C] D.
But in context, [G] it's kind of nice.
You get
[E] I'm a little out of tune, [D] actually.
[Fm] But anyway, it's kind of a nice sound.
[G]
And [E] that's just one way of playing a C.
There's tons of other ways.
I mean, [Em] the E note is in a C chord, but a G note is also in a C chord.
[C]
So there's a nice way of playing a C chord.
Now, all of these are a little odd because they're not C in root position.
By [G] that, I mean that the bass note is still G.
[C] And if you wanted a C chord in root position, you'd have to have that note, a C.
So, well, there's different ways of doing that.
You can kind of do this.
You've got this shape to give you your C chord.
And then if you can, just stretch over, put the pinky on the fourth fret
Sorry, fifth fret.
And you get a C chord.
Now, you [Dm] might want to leave the D string open, as I said, that last one [C] there.
[E] Or you might want to find some way of barring with the first finger so that you get an E on the D string and E on the other D string,
a C on the A string, and another C on the G string.
That's kind [G#] of tricky, and I don't use that very often.
Here's another one you can do.
It's pretty tricky, too.
But this has the advantage of actually having the three notes in the major triad, which is [C] C, [E] E is going to be [F#] over there,
and then with my pinky, [C] I'm also going to get a G note.
So that's a nice way of playing a C.
I mean, it's a nice voicing of it.
It takes a lot of tension in the hand to get that.
So, [E] again, that's not one that I'd use that often.
Probably what I'd do is just change the whole position of the hand until I get [G] up here.
Since this was a G chord and I had open strings, if I think of that open string as being my fretted string, in a way,
then really I've got this shape, and that shape can be moved anywhere to get any chord.
So, in other words, here it's G, [A] here it's A, [B] here it's B, [C]
and here it would be C.
Now, [E] again, this takes a fair bit of pressure because you're barring all strings.
So you might want to use two fingers to get some extra pressure, and of course squeezing against the thumb.
I [C]
don't know if I actually [G] use two [Cm] fingers for pressure there or not, but you can kind of experiment with it.
I guess I probably don't use it because [Bm] I'm always prepared to move that finger to somewhere else.
Well, that's probably a good start.
Maybe I'll just send that to
And now, if you do want to play a D chord that has the major third in it, then you start
with the D chord that I showed you before, just the one finger, and then [F#m] you add in this
note, which is the F sharp on the D string.
[D]
And you know, it could be the F sharp on that D string, or it could be the F sharp on that D string.
Either way, it makes a nice chord.
And sometimes you're going to want a D minor, and that's very simple.
All you have to do is change the major third into a minor third, and major means big, minor means little.
So instead of doing this, [Dm] you do this.
Or same thing on this [F#m] string.
That's major, that's minor.
[G] You can do the same thing with a G chord.
In this case, the third in [B] the chord is represented by that note, which is a B.
So that's the
second fret on the A string.
[G]
And major is big, minor is little, so
[Gm] there's [D] that [E] G minor chord, [D] if you should ever need it.
You'll need it eventually.
Alright, now just in case you need one more chord, because most songs have three chords.
[G] So you've got a G chord, you've got [E] a D chord, in fact you've got a few variations of a D [D] chord.
But another one that's fairly easy to play is a C chord.
So if you put yourself back in that shape that you were using for the G chord, which
is just one finger, and you go one fret above B, one fret above the second fret is the third
fret on the A string, [C] and that'll be a C note.
And once you've got your third finger, well, I told you that normally you would use a second
finger to play the third fret, but in this case, when you're playing chords, you can
kind of make it up.
It's whatever [C] is comfortable, and sometimes you need fingers to go on several strings
at once, so you can see what's comfortable for you.
Anyway, I'm going to use my third finger to play the C [F] natural, and then the first finger
that I had [E] on the A string, I'm just going to move one string over to play it on the D string.
That'll give me an E note.
Now, this is a strange C chord because [Dm] I've still got the [F#] open D string over here, so
if I wanted to play a completely correct C chord, I would try and put a second fret on
both D strings.
So that's one way of playing a C chord.
I think that if [G] you're in the key of G,
[D] [G] [C]
leaving that [E] D string [Dm] open, it's kind of tricky to
do, of course.
You've got to avoid letting this finger touch the open [C] D.
But in context, [G] it's kind of nice.
You get
[E] I'm a little out of tune, [D] actually.
[Fm] But anyway, it's kind of a nice sound.
[G]
And [E] that's just one way of playing a C.
There's tons of other ways.
I mean, [Em] the E note is in a C chord, but a G note is also in a C chord.
[C]
So there's a nice way of playing a C chord.
Now, all of these are a little odd because they're not C in root position.
By [G] that, I mean that the bass note is still G.
[C] And if you wanted a C chord in root position, you'd have to have that note, a C.
So, well, there's different ways of doing that.
You can kind of do this.
You've got this shape to give you your C chord.
And then if you can, just stretch over, put the pinky on the fourth fret
Sorry, fifth fret.
And you get a C chord.
Now, you [Dm] might want to leave the D string open, as I said, that last one [C] there.
[E] Or you might want to find some way of barring with the first finger so that you get an E on the D string and E on the other D string,
a C on the A string, and another C on the G string.
That's kind [G#] of tricky, and I don't use that very often.
Here's another one you can do.
It's pretty tricky, too.
But this has the advantage of actually having the three notes in the major triad, which is [C] C, [E] E is going to be [F#] over there,
and then with my pinky, [C] I'm also going to get a G note.
So that's a nice way of playing a C.
I mean, it's a nice voicing of it.
It takes a lot of tension in the hand to get that.
So, [E] again, that's not one that I'd use that often.
Probably what I'd do is just change the whole position of the hand until I get [G] up here.
Since this was a G chord and I had open strings, if I think of that open string as being my fretted string, in a way,
then really I've got this shape, and that shape can be moved anywhere to get any chord.
So, in other words, here it's G, [A] here it's A, [B] here it's B, [C]
and here it would be C.
Now, [E] again, this takes a fair bit of pressure because you're barring all strings.
So you might want to use two fingers to get some extra pressure, and of course squeezing against the thumb.
I [C]
don't know if I actually [G] use two [Cm] fingers for pressure there or not, but you can kind of experiment with it.
I guess I probably don't use it because [Bm] I'm always prepared to move that finger to somewhere else.
Well, that's probably a good start.
Maybe I'll just send that to
Key:
C
G
E
D
Dm
C
G
E
_ _ _ Right, so there's that position.
And now, _ if you do want to play a D chord that has the major third in it, then you start
with the D chord that I showed you before, _ just the one finger, and then [F#m] you add in this
note, which is the F sharp on the D string.
[D] _ _
And you know, it could be the F sharp on that D string, or it could be the F sharp on that D string.
_ _ Either way, it makes a nice chord.
And sometimes you're going to want a D minor, and that's very simple.
All you have to do is change the major third into a minor third, and major means big, minor means little.
So instead of doing this, [Dm] you do this.
_ Or same thing on this [F#m] string.
That's major, _ that's minor.
_ [G] _ You can do the same thing with a G chord.
In this case, the third in [B] the chord _ is represented by that note, which is a B. _
So that's the
second fret on the A string.
_ [G] _ _
And major is big, minor is little, so _
_ [Gm] _ _ there's [D] that [E] G minor chord, [D] if you should ever need it.
You'll need it eventually. _
_ _ Alright, now just in case you need one more chord, because _ most songs have three chords.
_ _ _ _ [G] So you've got a G chord, you've got [E] a D chord, in fact you've got a few variations of a D [D] chord.
_ _ _ But another one that's fairly easy to play is a C chord.
So if you put yourself back in that shape that you were using for the G chord, which
is just one finger, and you go one fret above B, one fret above the second fret is the third
fret on the A string, [C] and that'll be a C note.
_ _ _ _ And once you've got your third finger, well, I told you that normally you would use a second
finger to play the third fret, but in this case, _ _ _ _ when you're playing chords, you can
kind of make it up.
It's whatever _ _ [C] is comfortable, and sometimes you need fingers to go _ _ on several strings
at once, so you can see what's comfortable for you.
Anyway, I'm going to use my third finger _ to play the C [F] natural, and then the first finger
that I had [E] on the A string, I'm just going to move one string over to play it on the D string.
That'll give me an E note.
_ _ _ _ Now, this is a strange C chord because [Dm] _ I've still got the [F#] open D string over here, so
if I wanted to play _ a completely correct C chord, _ I would try and put _ _ a second fret on
both D strings. _ _ _ _ _
So that's one way of playing a C chord. _ _
I think that if [G] you're in the key of G, _
_ [D] _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _ _
leaving that [E] D string _ [Dm] open, it's kind of tricky to
do, of course.
You've got to avoid letting this finger touch _ the open [C] D. _
_ But in context, [G] it's kind of nice.
You get_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [E] I'm a little out of tune, [D] actually. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Fm] But anyway, it's kind of a nice sound.
[G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ And [E] that's just one way of playing a C.
There's tons of other ways.
I mean, _ _ [Em] the E note is in a C chord, but a G note is also in a C chord.
[C] _ _
So there's a nice way of playing a C chord.
Now, all of these are a little odd because they're not C in root position. _ _ _ _ _
By [G] that, I mean that the bass note is still G.
[C] _ And if you wanted a C chord in root position, you'd have to have that note, a C.
So, well, there's different ways of doing that.
You can kind of do this.
You've got this shape to give you your C chord.
And then if you can, just stretch over, put the pinky on the fourth fret_
Sorry, fifth fret.
_ _ _ And you get a C chord.
Now, you [Dm] might want to leave the D string open, as I said, that last one [C] there.
[E] Or you might want to find some way of barring with the first finger so that you get an E on the D string and E on the other D string,
a C on the A string, and another C on the G string. _ _ _ _
That's kind [G#] of tricky, and I don't use that very often.
_ Here's another one you can do.
It's pretty tricky, too.
_ But this has the advantage of actually having the three notes in the major triad, which is [C] C, [E] E is going to be [F#] over there,
and then with my pinky, [C] I'm also going to get a G note.
So _ _ _ _ _ that's _ a nice way of playing _ a C.
I mean, it's a nice _ _ voicing of it.
It takes a lot of tension in the hand to get that.
So, _ _ [E] again, that's not one that I'd use that often.
Probably what I'd do is just change the whole _ position of the hand until I get [G] up here.
Since this was a G chord and I had open strings, if I think of that _ open string as being _ _ my fretted string, in a way, _
_ then really I've got this shape, and that shape can be moved anywhere to get any chord.
So, in other words, here it's G, [A] _ _ here it's A, _ [B] _ here it's B, [C] _
and here it would be C.
Now, [E] again, this takes a fair bit of pressure because you're barring all strings.
_ So you might _ _ want to use two fingers to get some extra pressure, and of course squeezing against the thumb.
I [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ don't know if I actually [G] use two [Cm] fingers for pressure there or not, but you can kind of experiment with it.
I guess I probably don't use it because [Bm] I'm always prepared to move that finger to somewhere else.
Well, that's probably a good start.
Maybe I'll just send that to
And now, _ if you do want to play a D chord that has the major third in it, then you start
with the D chord that I showed you before, _ just the one finger, and then [F#m] you add in this
note, which is the F sharp on the D string.
[D] _ _
And you know, it could be the F sharp on that D string, or it could be the F sharp on that D string.
_ _ Either way, it makes a nice chord.
And sometimes you're going to want a D minor, and that's very simple.
All you have to do is change the major third into a minor third, and major means big, minor means little.
So instead of doing this, [Dm] you do this.
_ Or same thing on this [F#m] string.
That's major, _ that's minor.
_ [G] _ You can do the same thing with a G chord.
In this case, the third in [B] the chord _ is represented by that note, which is a B. _
So that's the
second fret on the A string.
_ [G] _ _
And major is big, minor is little, so _
_ [Gm] _ _ there's [D] that [E] G minor chord, [D] if you should ever need it.
You'll need it eventually. _
_ _ Alright, now just in case you need one more chord, because _ most songs have three chords.
_ _ _ _ [G] So you've got a G chord, you've got [E] a D chord, in fact you've got a few variations of a D [D] chord.
_ _ _ But another one that's fairly easy to play is a C chord.
So if you put yourself back in that shape that you were using for the G chord, which
is just one finger, and you go one fret above B, one fret above the second fret is the third
fret on the A string, [C] and that'll be a C note.
_ _ _ _ And once you've got your third finger, well, I told you that normally you would use a second
finger to play the third fret, but in this case, _ _ _ _ when you're playing chords, you can
kind of make it up.
It's whatever _ _ [C] is comfortable, and sometimes you need fingers to go _ _ on several strings
at once, so you can see what's comfortable for you.
Anyway, I'm going to use my third finger _ to play the C [F] natural, and then the first finger
that I had [E] on the A string, I'm just going to move one string over to play it on the D string.
That'll give me an E note.
_ _ _ _ Now, this is a strange C chord because [Dm] _ I've still got the [F#] open D string over here, so
if I wanted to play _ a completely correct C chord, _ I would try and put _ _ a second fret on
both D strings. _ _ _ _ _
So that's one way of playing a C chord. _ _
I think that if [G] you're in the key of G, _
_ [D] _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _ _
leaving that [E] D string _ [Dm] open, it's kind of tricky to
do, of course.
You've got to avoid letting this finger touch _ the open [C] D. _
_ But in context, [G] it's kind of nice.
You get_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [E] I'm a little out of tune, [D] actually. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Fm] But anyway, it's kind of a nice sound.
[G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ And [E] that's just one way of playing a C.
There's tons of other ways.
I mean, _ _ [Em] the E note is in a C chord, but a G note is also in a C chord.
[C] _ _
So there's a nice way of playing a C chord.
Now, all of these are a little odd because they're not C in root position. _ _ _ _ _
By [G] that, I mean that the bass note is still G.
[C] _ And if you wanted a C chord in root position, you'd have to have that note, a C.
So, well, there's different ways of doing that.
You can kind of do this.
You've got this shape to give you your C chord.
And then if you can, just stretch over, put the pinky on the fourth fret_
Sorry, fifth fret.
_ _ _ And you get a C chord.
Now, you [Dm] might want to leave the D string open, as I said, that last one [C] there.
[E] Or you might want to find some way of barring with the first finger so that you get an E on the D string and E on the other D string,
a C on the A string, and another C on the G string. _ _ _ _
That's kind [G#] of tricky, and I don't use that very often.
_ Here's another one you can do.
It's pretty tricky, too.
_ But this has the advantage of actually having the three notes in the major triad, which is [C] C, [E] E is going to be [F#] over there,
and then with my pinky, [C] I'm also going to get a G note.
So _ _ _ _ _ that's _ a nice way of playing _ a C.
I mean, it's a nice _ _ voicing of it.
It takes a lot of tension in the hand to get that.
So, _ _ [E] again, that's not one that I'd use that often.
Probably what I'd do is just change the whole _ position of the hand until I get [G] up here.
Since this was a G chord and I had open strings, if I think of that _ open string as being _ _ my fretted string, in a way, _
_ then really I've got this shape, and that shape can be moved anywhere to get any chord.
So, in other words, here it's G, [A] _ _ here it's A, _ [B] _ here it's B, [C] _
and here it would be C.
Now, [E] again, this takes a fair bit of pressure because you're barring all strings.
_ So you might _ _ want to use two fingers to get some extra pressure, and of course squeezing against the thumb.
I [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ don't know if I actually [G] use two [Cm] fingers for pressure there or not, but you can kind of experiment with it.
I guess I probably don't use it because [Bm] I'm always prepared to move that finger to somewhere else.
Well, that's probably a good start.
Maybe I'll just send that to