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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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).
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:
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 chords
- Franklin’s Tower – The Grateful Dead – A, G, and D chords
- Stir It Up – Bob Marley – A, D, and E chords
- I Saw The Light – Hank Williams – G, C and D chords
- Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash – G, C and D chords
- Leaving on a Jet Plane – John Denver – G, C and D chords
- Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd – G, C and D chords
- Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival – G, D, and A chords
- Jane Says – Jane’s Addiction – G and A chords
- Spirit In The Sky – Norman Greenbaum – A, D, C, G and E chords
The Next Thing You NEED To Learn On Guitar
(Nobody Talks About This)
A secret to learning the guitar way faster and easier is understanding how to choose, maintain, and care for your instrument.
Because surprisingly few players know how to do exactly those things.
And if you don’t even have a handle on those fundamentals…
Then it doesn’t matter how good you are, or what song you’re playing…
You simply aren’t going to sound good on a poorly maintained instrument.
That’s why in this book, I decided to reveal all the secret tips I know when it comes to buying, owning, and maintaining an acoustic guitar…
…Stuff that took me a decade to learn on my own, since it is scattered randomly around the internet (or rarely discussed at all)
In this book you’ll discover…
- how to choose a guitar
- what to look for in tonewoods
- guitar body styles
- how to get a good price
- whether to buy used or new
- a curated guide to the 10 best acoustic guitars for beginners
- how to choose guitar strings, and make them last 10x longer
- how to maintain your instrument for a lifetime
- caring for the fretboard
- should you use fretboard oil? how often?
- adjusting the truss rod
- flying and traveling with your instrument safely
- how to store and display your guitar safely
- caring for the fretboard
- what to learn first on guitar (fingerpicking? flatpicking? etc)
- where to learn it
- the best ways and resources to teach yourself guitar for FREE
- 30 secret hacks to unleash unstoppable guitar motivation
- how to stay in love with the instrument for the rest of your life
- much more
So if you’re ready to rocket past your competition…
And learn how to choose, maintain, care for, and fall in love with your instrument for a lifetime to come…
Then you can pick up my Ultimate Buyer’s and Maintenance Guide.