Easy Guitar Chords: Common Rhythms and Progressions teaches you the easy, basic chords found in every key of music, then shows you how to use them. Start with open chords and progress with time, strength and practice to popular barre chords, so you don’t just learn a handful of shapes: you learn to play and make music with them.

Every chord, rhythm and progression is shown with a chord chart, suggested fingering, standard notation and TAB, so you can read whichever you prefer.

• Chords in the key of C: fifths and power chords, basic chord theory, the F chord four ways, and tips for beginners

• Rhythms and progressions: chords as numbers, 2- and 4-chord progressions, eighth notes, “cheat” chords, raking strings, substitutions and relative minor progressions

• Every key of music: G, D, A and E, bar progressions, then B, F, Bb, Eb, F#, Db and Ab

• Reference: a chord library for every key, a chord progression reference and a fretboard note chart

New in the 2026 edition: 35 popular 2- and 3-chord songs to practice, a video chapter index with a QR code at the start of every chapter that jumps straight to that lesson in the free full-length video, and a “More from Mark John Sternal” catalog of his other books and courses.

By Mark John Sternal, teaching guitar for over 30 years. Full-color PDF, 110 pages, instant download.

Want the video lessons too? Watch every lesson in this book in the companion Easy Guitar Chords video course: https://www.mjsguitarlessons.com/product-page/easy-guitar-chords-common-rhythms-and-progressions

Ready for scales next? Get the complete TSTA bundle, the 200-page handbook plus 4 hours HD video, for $39.95 (was $97): https://www.mjsguitarlessons.com/product-page/tstavideobookbundle