If you've recently starting playing guitar you’ve probably already tried some of the most common open chords (so called because they include un-fretted or ‘open’ strings), such as C, A and Em.

As they ring against the fretted notes, the open strings are crucial to the sound and feel of these chords. Practise each chord first by strumming, then picking each string individually to check that ...

There are a couple of ways to tune your guitar to perfect 4ths. You could tune the bottom four strings down a half-step, or you could tune the top to strings up half a step to C and F respectively.