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As somebody without musical knowledge beyond the first chords you might learn for pop guitar, after reading this article I still have no idea which chords I nee

• analog31 5y ago
  If you're learning the instrument, you'll generally learn them as you progress, starting with beginner material that may have only one or two chords. At some point you will know "many" chords and be possessed to learn more, and may eventually pursue "every" chord. Any physically realizable fingering on the guitar is a chord. Whether it's useful is another matter. Different permutations of the same notes, in different ranges, is a way to add things like motion and emphasis in the music. Another way of looking at it is how many chords are you likely to encounter if you get into something like a band or jam session situation, where you're expected to hear a chord and play it. That depends on the musical style, and where the music came from. For instance, tunes that were composed for other instruments might have their own chordal language that results in the same chords cropping up unexpectedly in guitar music. A lot of folk music has its own "logic" for lack of a better term, based on the mechanics of the instrument.
  • mellosouls 5y ago
    Thanks for taking the time to help elaborate. When I opened the article I was (naively?) kind of hoping to find a list of chords that would have me covered for most situations, but was unable to determine from the Roman numeric jargon being used if that was so.