First Open Chords: 8 Chords in 10 Sheets

This PDF guide teaches you eight open guitar chords in ten sheets: C, G, Am, Em, D, Dm, E and A. An open chord is played with open strings and no barre, which makes it the simplest way to start. Here, these chords are never presented in isolation but always inside a progression, because you remember a chord shape better once you have already linked it with another.

A four-week path

• Week 1 — C, G, Am, Em: chord changes without rhythm, then the strumming arm and the strumming pattern.
• Week 2 — One more chord, D: the G-D-Em-C progression as chord changes, as steady strumming, then as a slow ballad with rests.
• Week 3 — The same chords, in minor: Em-C-G-D then Em-Am-D-G, with no new chords, only new orders.
• Week 4 — Dm, E and A: Am-Dm-G-C, then the suspended chords Esus4, E, Asus2, A, before a from-memory review of all eight chords.

What the PDF adds to the online sheets

It is not just a collection of the site's sheets. The guide explains its learning order, offers a week-by-week practice plan and adds, for each sheet, its place in the path and a tip specific to the guide. Every sheet also links back to its online version.

Two versions of the same guide

The A4 version suits reading on a computer and printing. The eBook version has 108 × 144 mm pages (3:4 ratio) designed for 7-inch e-readers (Kobo, Kindle, Boox…), with enlarged text and chord diagrams; it stays readable on phones and tablets. The content is identical, only the layout differs.

Who is it for?

Beginners discovering the guitar, and anyone who wants to make their chord changes reliable at last. Plan on one sheet per session: the strumming arm only joins in once the fretting hand knows where to go.