Before we proceed to the more important stuff let us just refresh our knowledge of what guitar chords are.
In guitar playing, a guitar chord is composed of three or more different notes played simultaneously to give that polyphonic effect on guitars.
A chord is named after the root note which is usually the lowest note on the chord.
Guitar chords may be strummed, plucked or picked.
Having said that, double-stops and power chords are intervals, not really chords.
Chords are used for rhythm guitar playing but to become a better lead guitar player, you must be skilled in chording as well.
Some lead parts of a song can start out with a chord and most others require a chord to play the lead guitar.
You need proper chord knowledge most especially when the lead guitar parts of the song utilizes arpeggio where notes are played in sequence rather than simultaneously.
That's why in better understanding of guitar chords, you may need to know how to read scales.
There are different ways to play a chord.
The easy one is using open chords which is very fundamental in guitar playing.
The next one would be barre chords, or the chords you make while pressing all six strings at the same with your first finger.
There are also different kinds of chords a beginner must know.
The first one is a major chord which is composed of three notes placed in ascending order - the root note, the major third and the perfect fifth.
Major chords usually produce a sunny sound.
Minor chords on the other hand sound melancholy and eerie.
It is composed of the minor triad which is the root note, minor third and perfect third.
The intervals are also between first and third and first to fifth note of the minor scale.
Other kinds of chords - seventh chord, sixth chord, suspended chord, and slash chord - are more complicated than the major and minor which can be switched as easy as changing one note.