Major Guitar Chords: Introduction To G, C, A, and F major

This post will cover four of the most commonly used major guitar chords.

These are G, C, A, and F major chords. However, there are a few more essential Major guitar chords to be learned down the road, such as E, D, and B.

These chords (to exclude B Major) are all open-voicing chord shapes. 

Later in your studies, once you’ve mastered the basic shapes, you’ll likely become familiar with barre chords, which will introduce you to sharp (#) and flat (b) major guitar chords.

With that said, Let’s Discover the

4 useful major guitar chords for a better song arsenal

G major guitar chord

This is what the G major guitar chord looks like:

g-major-guitar-chord

If you’re unsure how to translate the G chord diagram to the guitar fretboard, check out the ‘Understanding the Guitar Fretboard Diagrams lesson here, then return to this article when you’re ready.

Some G Major guitar chord insights:

  • The G major guitar chord is written as a capital letter (G) with no additional signs or numbers.
  • It’s commonly used in rock and popular Western music.
  • The G major chord is the first chord in songs like American Pie, White Christmas, The A-Team, and Stand by Me.
  • It is a major triad consisting of three notes: G, B, and D.
  • The G major chord functions as:
    • The tonic (I) in the G major scale.
    • The subdominant (IV) in the D major scale.
    • The dominant (V) in the C major scale.
  • The relative minor of the G major scale is the E minor scale.
  •  

Songs that contain The G Major chord:

C Major guitar chord

The C Major guitar chord looks like this:

c-major-guitar-chord

Some C Major guitar chord insights:

  • The C major guitar chord is written as a capital letter (C) with no additional signs or numbers.
  • It is the first chord in songs like All I Want and Let It Be.
  • The C major chord is a major triad, consisting of three notes: C, E, and G.
  • The C major chord functions as:
    • The tonic (I) in the C major scale.
    • The subdominant (IV) in the G major scale.
    • The dominant (V) in the F major scale.
  • The relative minor of the C major scale is the A minor scale.

Songs In The C Major scale:

A Major guitar chord

The A Major guitar chord looks like this:

a-major-guitar-chord

Some A Major guitar chord insights:

  • The A major guitar chord is written as a capital letter (A) with no additional signs or numbers.
  • It is the first chord in songs like Free Fallin’ (Tom Petty) and Tears in Heaven (Eric Clapton).
  • The A major chord is a major triad, consisting of three notes: A, C#, and E.
  • The A major chord functions as:
    • The tonic (I) in the A major scale.
    • The subdominant (IV) in the E major scale.
    • The dominant (V) in the D major scale.
  • The relative minor of the A major scale is the F# minor scale.

Songs that start with the A Major Chord:

F Major Guitar Chord

The F Major guitar chord looks like this:

f-major-guitar-chord-first-shape

This is how the f major guitar chord  will sound when strummed once:

Some F major guitar chord insights:

  • The F major guitar chord is written as the capital letter F.
  • It is the first chord in Hey Jude.
  • The F major chord is a major triad, consisting of three notes: F, A, and C.
  • The F major chord functions as:
    • The tonic (I) in the F major scale.
    • The subdominant (IV) in the C major scale.
    • The dominant (V) in the B♭ major scale.
  • The relative minor of the F major scale is the D minor scale.

Songs that start with the F major chord:

 

Check out how to overcome the guitar f chord challenge here.

 

Summary

As you can see, mastering these four guitar chords will significantly benefit your playing. Moreover, thousands of songs contain one or more of these chords, so mastering them in your early stages of playing is an excellent investment.

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