Chording a guitar is a very physical way to get a melodic result (if you can tune the guitar). Unlike many instruments, with chorded instruments, one can learn a physical way to produce music without knowing any music theory or having any particular "ear" for music.

I was blessed with a love of music, but a poor ear for it. (In third grade I was assigned the drums as I couldn't repeat a tune on other instruments). I started on guitar primarily because you don't have to read musci to learn to accompany a song.

I'm sixty years old now and a reasonably good guitarist who still does not sight read music. My talent comes more from experience (and love of music) than natural ability. I am one of the people who over the years has put in requests for chords. I can hear melodies fairly well, but I don't hear harmonies easily.


I think it is easy to learn to chord with a song without having much musical skill and I suspect that is why some guitar players picked up the instrument. I can convert melodies to chords fairly easily now, but sometimes I hear a chord in a song that I cannot reproduce. Those are the times I make chord requests.

Roger in Baltimore