# Guitar players - What is the first chord you play when you pick up your guitar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2008, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972 "2008-01-10T11:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/1 "2008-01-10T11:51:13Z")
You know you sit down with your acoustic in your lap, or you throw the strap of your electric around your neck… …you are thinking of what to play and getting reacquainted with your stringed friend… …on their own volition your fingers move to the fretboard, earger to caress her and make her sing… …and you play a …what? I tend to play a quirky a-chord that is an open a-string, seventh fret of the d-string, sixth fret of the g-string and open b & e. Not sure what it is called, but that is what I usually find myself playing. Second is a standard g-chord that lets you asses if all of your strings are in tune. What do your fingers prefer to play first? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/2 "2008-01-10T12:00:25Z")
E minor. Or perhaps A minor. Kind of sad, really. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/3 "2008-01-10T12:30:01Z")
Always G, for whatever unknown reason. That seems to be my default position on the fretboard. I fall back to it during long breaks. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/4 "2008-01-10T12:32:21Z")
Em. Almost always. Other than that, E5 (power chord). ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/5 "2008-01-10T12:35:03Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] E minor. Or perhaps A minor. Kind of sad, really. 😃 [/QUOTE] I do Am followed by Em. Having the blues is contagious it seems. I eventually snap out of it by adding a Fminor to the mix and then some boppy fingerpicking. Maybe I’m bipolar instead of just depressive. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/6 "2008-01-10T12:36:58Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] E minor. Or perhaps A minor. Kind of sad, really. 😃 [/QUOTE] D minor is the saddest of all keys, of course. I always play a G chord, with the extra D note added on the B string, the opening chord to the Eagles “Take It Easy”. It just sounds good, plus it verifies tuning pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/7 "2008-01-10T12:40:18Z")
[QUOTE=newcrasher] I tend to play a quirky a-chord that is an open a-string, seventh fret of the d-string, sixth fret of the g-string and open b & e. Not sure what it is called, but that is what I usually find myself playing. Second is a standard g-chord that lets you asses if all of your strings are in tune. What do your fingers prefer to play first? [/QUOTE] That’s an Aadd2, Or you might call it an A9 except it doesn’t have the 7th. The nice thing about that chord is you can just move around the D and G strings with the same shape and leave the A, B, and E strings open. Can pretty much play a whole song like that if you want. I normally play a G. ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/8 "2008-01-10T12:40:23Z")
[QUOTE=newcrasher] lets you **asses** if all of your strings are in tune. [/QUOTE] …nothing personal… ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/9 "2008-01-10T12:59:32Z")
The guitar sitting here in my office has a broken string so I can’t pick it up and try ☹ . It would probably be a D-7 on the 5th fret, the starting chord for the quintessential Bossa Nova tune, _Chega de Saudade_. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t flat the five 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/10 "2008-01-10T13:13:42Z")
Moved from IMHO to CS. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/11 "2008-01-10T13:20:23Z")
The intro riff from _Wish You Were Here_, finishing on an Em Dum, da-da da dum Si ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/12 "2008-01-10T13:29:07Z")
I fried my left wrist years ago and haven’t picked up a guitar in ages, but I always went to Em, the opening chord of my warm-up pickin’ tune, whose title I can no longer remember. It’s so sad. Somebody play me a Dm… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/13 "2008-01-10T13:36:19Z")
Really? I am the first to say an open A? Typically just a Cheater’s A, where I fret the three required strings with just my index finger so I can do a standard hammer-on, pull-off from the fifth string, 3rd fret to sixth string, third fret. I then move to an open D - but typically a sharp, Jimmy Page-style upstroke - to really get the attack and listen for both the tuning and whether my gain settings are good - there is _nothing_ like the sound of an amp just breaking up into overdrive on a sharp upstroked D. Think AC/DC’s Riff Raff, right when Bon says “Riff Raff” - that’s what I’m talking about… ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/14 "2008-01-10T14:05:48Z")
My guitar is almost always tuned down to Drop C (like System of a Down) and I always just play a power chord on the 1st fret. About as simple as it gets, but hey, that’s how “Prison Song” starts! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/15 "2008-01-10T14:23:33Z")
Why, Gb7maj5, of course. Doesn’t everyone? ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/16 "2008-01-10T14:40:36Z")
The “funky E” or the first chord to “Season of The Witch” ala Bloomfield Kooper Stills. E----0------------------------------------------------------------ B----0------------------------------------------------------------ G----7------------------------------------------------------------ D----6------------------------------------------------------------ A----7------------------------------------------------------------ E----0------------------------------------------------------------ ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/17 "2008-01-10T14:42:00Z")
I play an C# Locrian scale with a sharp second. Naaah. Eminor or G with the added D like someone above - for tuning. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/18 "2008-01-10T14:58:25Z")
I usually play a G, then cycle quickly through G, C, Am, Em, and D just to warm up my fingers. ---
**Author:** ![neorxnawange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f4b2a3/32.png) [@neorxnawange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neorxnawange)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/19 "2008-01-10T15:08:39Z")
G is default for me. Maybe it was the first chord I learned. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972/20 "2008-01-10T15:08:52Z")
Usually a cheater’s A, then let my ring and pinky fingers widdle around the top two strings. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-players-what-is-the-first-chord-you-play-when-you-pick-up-your-guitar/432972.md?page=2)