G and e chords

I just started working on lessons with Anders He's teaching a basic G chord and e chord that differs from the chord charts. Actually they are completely different. I am trying to find out why their is a difference between what he is teaching and the charts.

Thanks! Vince D.

He's teaching simple versions of those chords as a beginner approach.  This is a common way to start a guitar curriculum. Later on he gets to the commonly used full open chords.

The chord charts you are referring to probably show the full open chords without mentioning or using the simple versions.  But the simple versions are in fact part of the full versions.

To play any given chord you only need 3 notes (1st, 3rd, 5th of the parent scale).  Any more than that is usually just doubling one of those notes an octave lower.

For example, the simple E minor chord is just a small part of the full open E minor:

|-0-(e)-----0-(e)-----|
|-0-(b)-----0-(e)-----|
|-0-(g)-----0-(g)-----|
|-----------2-(e)-----|
|-----------2-(b)-----|
|-----------0-(e)-----|

Playing simple chords is not always necessary.  Some students can more easily jump right into full chords.  But it can be a helpful first step on the way to full chords for some students.  But different students bring different skill levels to learning & we plan the curriculum accordingly. 

Another reason it can be helpful is that it matches basic music theory (& piano) pedagogy: a chord only requires 3 notes. If you skip that knowledge, which some guitar programs do, you wind up thinking that the only way to make any given chord is the static open shapes.

So, it helps physical technique by only requiring one finger & minimal strumming. And it helps conceptually to set the precedence that a chord requires a minimum of 3 notes & there is a variety of ways to play any given chord.

If you have more questions you can ask Anders directly in this forum.

https://www.guitartricks.com/forum/c/51

Hope that helps!

Thanks Chris!

You're welcome!

Thanks for the link.