Guitar notes and chords?

Question

I starting to play the guitar and I have no background in music or anything. I completely NEW!

What is the difference between a note and a chord? What is a chord more specifically?

Answer 1

A note is a single tone / sound you hear when plucking one string. So if you hit the very top (thickest string) open (no fingers on the fret board) you are hitting an "E" note.

When reading tabs and theories online, most places show the guitar upside down. Meaning the very bottom (thinnest) string is shown on top. Like this:

e (thinnest string)
B
G
D
A
E (thickest string)

So a note is if you hit any one of those single strings by themselves, either with your finger on a fret, or just open.

A chord is a combination of notes. It could be 2 notes or even up to 6 notes. A chord would look like this on tabs:
e-----0----- (0 means open)
b-----0-----
g-----0-----
d-----2-----
a-----2-----
e-----0-----

The chord above contains 3 different notes. Even though you are hitting all six strings, some of the strings are playing the same notes.

Answer 2

Go online and find a free tuner for your computer and learn to tune your guitar.
Next you could pay for lessons or buy a couple of instructional guitar videos. This way you can accually see the fingering done the proper way and more important you can hear the cords played clearly. Expect to devolp calus on the tips of your fingers ...use nylons strings to start. Once you master the Bar chords and major E Em A Am C Cm F Fm G Gm and D Dm cords you will be able to play abour 90% of popular music from a simple fake book or guitar chord books.There are really good ones that are very helpful. Some have extra features that allow you to play along with others on the DVD ot tape so that you can work on your timing and the dynamics of music performance. They also come in many genres of music from folk classics to blues to classical guitar for Mozart .
Practice practice practice...occasionally you will lay it down and not play it ...loosen the strings and keep it in a cool dry place so it won't get damaged. You'll find yourself pulling it out because you were inspired by something you heard or saw...that is what is cool about it! Downside it is a very hard instrument to master...if you just want to play music for your self try piano...it's the easy one to play...no half plunked dead sounding strings or wrapping your wrist and contorting your body to flail at it...nope sit down and it is right all in front of you! push the key down with a finger (nothin' easier than that!) BINGO it makes a clear note that you don't have to re tune ot re string!...bonus...you can play two parts of a song at that same time! chords or bass line in one hand and melody lead line in the other! You'll be very pleased especially with electronic keyboards that have rthym sections and drum sections to play along with and can mimic many types of instruments...when your done slide it under your bed (first remove the left over pizza slice!) Throw it under your arm and take it to the beach if it runs on flash light batteries. You'll always be the hit at any party where you'll find a piano! It's a killer way of meeting chicks better that a guitar!
Best of all there is the "Piano Guy"on PBS is giving excellent beginer lessons every week ..he is really good at explaining practical piano playing for the masses! And throws the whole theory of traditional piano lessons most kids hated out the window as the worst way to learn!
I agree with him 100%! His lessons are available on DVD.

Answer 3

A chord is a group of notes played together.

Naturally Major Chords are C , G, and F
Naturally Minor Chords are A, D, and E
and the naturally Diminished Chord is B

Theory here:

To make a naturally Minor chord Major raise the 3rd
E .........................E
C = Minor..........C# = Major
A......................... A

Vice versa to make a major minor(lower the 3rd) and a minor diminished. On the fretboard raising the 3rd would mean going up one fret.
Very helpful when your looking for that right chord

Answer 4

A note is a single tone whereas a chord is a combination of tones.

Answer 5

a chord is any two or more notes played simultaneously.

Answer 6

take a course