Learn A Song – Page 3 – Acoustic World

Learning the guitar can be difficult. But what if I told you that 90% of songs use 5 chords or less? And actually, there's even better news. By learning just 5 chords, you'll be able to play hundreds of different songs that you know and love. Everything from Led Zeppelin to Cat Stevens to The Grateful Dead and Black Sabbath... All from just 5 chords. One final note before we get started: don't forget to tune your guitar! These chords won't sound right if your guitar is out of tune... So use my free online guitar tuner to make sure your guitar is in tune before you start learning these chords. Tune up here ... or pick up my favorite clip-on guitar tuner (on Amazon). Below I'll reveal the 5 chords every guitarist should learn right away, and then we'll explore some famous songs that use just these chords, or even less. Let's get started. 1. The E Major Chord The E major chord is a classic and extremely popular chord. It's often used in blues music (though often modified slightly, to form an E-7). In this chord, the low and high E strings are both left open, while the 2nd fret of the A and D strings are fretted, as well as the first fret of the G string. Here's a full video walk-through of how to play the E Major Chord on Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EVT2VNMcpA 2. The A Major Chord There are a few different ways to play the A chord on guitar. Personally, I like to use my first finger to cover the 2nd fret of the D, G, and B strings, leaving the low and high E string muted/unplayed, and letting the open A string ring out. Covering all these strings with your first/pointer finger is known as "barreing" them. It's great training for when you go on to learn barre chords later on in your guitar playing journey. However, another option is to fret the 2nd fret of the D string with your pointer finger, the G string with your middle finger, and the B string with your ring finger. If you do it this way, you can let the high E string ring out open. Some people prefer the richer sound of this chord. Here's a full video walk-through of how to play the A Major Chord on Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MtCQi-9SAM 3. The D Major Chord The D major chord has always been one of my favorites. To form it, simply place your pointer finger on the 2nd fret of the G string, your ring finger on the 3rd fret of the B string, and your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string. The D string is played open. Here's a full video walk-through of how to play the D Major Chord on Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Ioh1iw8DE 4. The C Major Chord The C major chord is one I found difficult to learn early on. But now, I use it all the time. Place your ring finger on the 3rd fret of the A string, your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the D string, and your first finger on the first fret of the B string. The G and high E strings ring out open, but the low E is usually muted for the C chord. This one will take some practice for new players! Here's a full video walk-through of how to play the C Major Chord on Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRZilL-BDbI 5. The G Major Chord Here's some good news to keep you motivated: if you enjoy country or bluegrass music, you can probably play 90% of your favorite songs just by learning the G, C, and D chords, and getting yourself a capo (link to my favorite on Amazon). Get Yourself a CAPO (on Amazon) to easily move these chords up and down the fretboard Anyhow, there are a couple different ways to play the Open G Major chord. In the "bluegrass G", your middle finger frets the 3rd fret of the low E strings, while your ring finger frets the 3rd fret of the B string, and your pinky covers the 3rd fret of the high E. This is the G chord I play most often because I really love the sound. However, the "classic G chord" is formed like this: place your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the low E string, your pointer finger on the 2nd fret of the A string, and your ring finger on the 3rd fret of the high E string. In both of these version, all 6 of the strings are played. This gives the G chord a really beautiful full sound. Here's a full video walk-through of how to play the G Major Chord on Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb9G4EqA-LI Popular Songs That Use These 5 Easy Chords (Tabs Included) Click on these songs to check out the tabs and start learning! All of them use only the 5 chords we talked about above: Closer To The Heart - Rush - A, G, and D chordsFranklin's Tower - The Grateful Dead - A, G, and D chordsStir It Up - Bob Marley - A, D, and E chordsI Saw The Light - Hank Williams - G, C and D chordsRing of Fire – Johnny Cash - G, C and D chordsLeaving on a Jet Plane – John Denver - G, C and D chordsSweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd - G, C and D chordsBad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival - G, D, and A chordsJane Says - Jane's Addiction - G and A chordsSpirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum - A, D, C, G and E chords