But what exactly is a chord? A chord is a collection of different tones that are played all at the same time in order to sound in harmony. And as you begin to learn playing the acoustic guitar, you will find that there are several major guitar chords to start with when you are learning how to play the acoustic guitar. And the first chord that you should begin with is the basic C chord, which you can play by strumming the A string through the high E strings. You can place your forefinger on the first fret, B string, your middle finger on the D string, second fret and lastly, your ring finger should be placed on the third fret and on the A string.