For novice guitar players, learning to play chords can seem daunting. Watching skilled guitarists, it seems effortless, but actually doing it yourself may prove a bit more challenging. However, as with anything, regular practice and an understanding of the basics can make guitar chords more accessible than you think. While playing one-string melodies can be a fun way to get accustomed to guitar playing, the true personality and flavor of guitar music relies on chords.

What is a guitar chord? Simply put, a chord is performed by striking two or more strings on a guitar. More specifically, this generally involves playing some combination of fretted and open strings. For instance, the A5 chord is played by holding down the second fret of the D string, and striking both the A and D string together. The A major, on the hand, requires the second frets of the D, G, and B strings to be held down, and all strings except the low E string to be played.

One of the big challenges in playing guitar chords is the need to use several fingers in a relatively cramped space, while putting even pressure on each fret, all while ensuring you only strike the strings you’re supposed to. It can be challenging at first, but it does get easier with practice. Some more complex chords require multiple strings to be fretted by the same finger (barre chords), requiring even more finger flexibility. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of chords is the need to quickly and smoothly transition from one chord to the next. Again, experienced players make this look like a cinch, but it does take some getting used to.

To help learn how to finger certain chords, there are many easy-to-follow tools available to the novice player. Guitar chord diagrams may be the easiest to understand when practicing chords. These are basic diagrams that show the basic layout of a guitar neck (vertically), and notate which frets to press and which strings to strike. Guitar tablature (tabs) work in a similar fashion, and show you how to finger the chord while actually playing a song. Here, the neck is shown horizontally as it would appear if the guitar were laying face up on your lap, and numbers on each string indicate which fret should be held. For example, a “1″ on the G string would indicated that the 1st fret should be pressed, while a “0″ would mean the string should be played open. No number means the string is not played at all.

While learning guitar chords does take some work, it is well worth the effort. Chords give new depth and richness to guitar music that can’t be achieved by playing single strings. Look online for resources for learning how to play different chords, such as chord diagrams and guitar tabs. With perserverance, it won’t be long until chords come naturally and require almost no effort or extra thought.

In this live studio performance DVD, classical guitar educator, concert artist and founding Los Angeles Guitar Quartet member William Kanengiser offers an in-depth look at two facets of his musical interests through a repertoire of classical and modern masterpieces. Throughout, William demonstrates the effortless technique and thoughtful interpretation that have kept him at the forefront of the classic guitar world for more than two decades. In exclusive bonus tracks, St. Louis radio personality John Clayton provides a thoughtful and informative artist interview, and William Kanengiser makes his debut as an actor and comedian in a hilarious celebrity roast of 20th century guitar icons.
Customer Review: Uninspired
While Mr. Kanengiser has all of the “mechanics” of the guitar worked out, I found his playing to very uninspired. Mel Bay (as usual) has produced an excellent product; all of the close-ups, great sound recording, everything the viewer could want. The performance of the guitarist is where this DVD is lacking, Mr. Kanengiser just appears to be “executing” rather than stiving to communicate to the listener the feeling behind the music. I would recommend ANY of the other “GFA” recordings by Mel Bay over this particular selection.
Customer Review: A great personality in the classical guitar world…
The highlight of the DVD is his presentation at GFA providing insight into the personalities of 22 influential classical guitarists and teachers. That alone is worth the price of the DVD (5 stars); a brilliant presentation….

…as for the performances, each piece is introduced with a little background, and sometimes a little speculation behind the motivation of the composers of the pieces he performs.

In the first half, he performs pieces from Sor, Aguado and Giuliani with a colorful musical interpretation and technique (considering the periods in which they composed, it takes good musicianship to make these interesting). You can tell he truly enjoys playing these pieces.

The highlight (to me) of the performance is in the second half, where he plays three pieces of Joaquin Rodrigo (En Los Trigales, Tiento Antiguo, and Fandango). He also plays a little bit of a hodge-podge of pieces: Missing Her by Frederic Hand (very pretty, with jazz influences), Sketches for Friends by Brian Head, and Keyunbaba by Carlo Dominiconi. He wraps up the second half with two encores (The Miller’s Dance - De Falla, and Rondo all Turak - Mozart).

Finally, he is interviewed and tells us a little about his life: when he started playing, his life at USC, playing with the LAGQ, and a little bit on balancing life with music (focused practicing). He also reveals who his greatest critic is (you’ll have to get the DVD to find out who that is).

A good DVD if you are learning any of these pieces. I found the Rodrigo works to be intriguing, as the phrasing in Rodrigo’s works can be difficult at times to figure out. Bill Kanengizer expresses them very well, and the viewer can “see where the piece is going” musically. “BUY NOW”