Chord Progressions: A "chord progression" is a succession of chords. The chord progression to a given song is the specific succession of chords that goes with the "melody", or tune, of the song to create a strummed accompaniment. The chord progressions below were written to help you practice all of the open chords. Instead of practicing 20-30 songs to learn and practice the complete set of open chords, you can add the following progressions to your daily routine, and cover the complete list in a few minutes:
||: C | G | Am | Em | F | C | Dm | G7 :|| (C)
||: A7 | D7 | A7 | E7 :|| (A7)
||: E | D | A | A G :|| (E)
(Extra):
||: Em | D :|| C7 | B7 || (Em)
Practice playing each of the chords in the progressions above, one after another. Hit each chord 4 times in a row, and count "1 2 3 4" with a regular, even beat. Use a metronome if you've got one. Learning to switch between chords quickly and easily is one of the most important steps in beginning to play the guitar. Practice the chord progressions above until they are memorized and clear sounding. You will use them as long as you play guitar, and they will form the basis for many other shapes and concepts that are fundamental to understanding how the guitar works.
Reading Chords From Sheet Music: Sheet music, particularly in books labeled "Piano, Vocal, Guitar", typically contain chord diagrams as the only notated guitar part. Below is the sheet music for a traditional folk song:
(diagram)
The musical notation and words in the sheet music represent the melody and text to be sung. The letters above the standard notation indicate guitar chords which can be strummed along with the voice part to provide an accompaniment. The meter (beat) of the song is indicated at the beginning of the first line. The "4/4" time signature indicates that you can strum 4 times per measure to create an accompaniment. To strum an accompaniment to the above music, do the following: - With the left hand, form the first chord shape, indicated above the words and music.
- With the right hand, strum the strings with an even beat, 4 times between each bar line.
- Hold each chord shape in the left hand until a new chord is indicated in the music.
Try strumming an accompaniment to the song using the directions above. Feel free to experiment with strumming patterns in the right hand once you get the "feel" of the song. Most guitarists make the rhythm a bit more interesting by strumming more or less than 4 times per measure in 4/4 time, with a more complex strumming pattern. As long as the pattern that you strum goes with the melody, you can use your intuitive sense of rhythm to strum however you like. The strumming patterns lesson covers more on common time signatures and specific strumming techniques. Search for songs that use the open chords you know - there are literally thousands of tunes that you can play using only those shapes. More complex chords will be discussed in later lessons:
Chord Charts: Because guitarists only need the meter and chord names to strum an accompaniment to a song, rhythm guitar parts are often notated in condensed "chord charts". Chord charts contain the time signature, chords, and order of sections in a song. Chord charts typically do not contain any lyrics or musical notation, so they are much more compact than full pages of sheet music. In chord charts, as in sheet music, measures are separated by vertical lines. Repeated measures of the same chord are notated by the percent symbol (%). The following is a simple chord chart for the song presented in sheet music above.
Rock - a My Soul:
4/4 | D | % | A7 | % | D | % | A7 | D | | % | % | A7 | % | D | % | A7 | D |
Try strumming through the above chord chart, and you will see that it produces the same guitar accompaniment as the sheet music for the song.
Most songs contain sections of music that are repeated several times. The "chorus" of a song, for example, is typically the section which contains the words of the title, along with the most recognizable melody in the song. The "verses" typically contain melodies which are less catchy, and which tell the story of the song. Verse and chorus sections generally alternate throughout the length of a song. Often, to break up repetitive verses and choruses, a "bridge", or extra transitional section is added for variety. Introductions ("intros"), endings ("outros", or "tags"), and instrumental sections ("solos") are also often added for musical interest. The "form" of a song may be defined as its specific pattern of organized sections. The chords of repeated formal sections are generally the same every time a section is repeated. Typically, only the words change during repeated sections of a song. In chord charts, therefore, the chords to specific sections are only notated once. After that, every time a section of the song is referred to (usually enclosed in parentheses), you should play all of the chords which occurred in that section the first time. Below is a chord chart for the song "Wonderful Tonight", in which repeated sections of the song are enclosed in parentheses. The double vertical lines with two dots which surround the chords of the introduction are called "repeat signs". The chords enclosed by repeat signs should be played twice.
Wonderful Tonight: Time signature: 4/4 Intro: ||: G | D | C | D :|| Verse:
| G | D | C | D |
| G | D | C | D |
| C | D | G D | Em |
| C | D | (Intro) - no repeat
(Verse) Bridge:
| C | D | G D | Em |
| C | D | C | D | (Intro)
(Verse) Tag: | G D | Em | C | D | (Intro) Last chord: | G |
The examples below contain chord charts for a number of popular songs. Find some that you know and like, learn the necessary chords, and then practice playing through the chart until you can play all of the chords without stopping, while keeping the beat with your right hand. Try playing alond with a recording of the sond to help keep the beat and to smooth out difficult sections.
Blowin' In the Wind:
Time signature: 2/4 Intro: | D | D |
Verse:
| D | G | A | D |
| D | G | D | D |
| D | G | A | D |
| D | G | A | A |
| D | G | A | D |
| D | G | D | D | Chorus:
| G | A | D | G |
| G | A | D | Instrumental:
| G | A | D | G |
| G | A | D | (Verse)
(Chorus)
(Instrumental) (Verse)
(Chorus)
(Instrumental)
Dock of the Bay: Time signature: 4/4 Intro: | G | G | G | G | Verse: | G | B7 | C | A | Chorus:
| G | E | G | E |
| G | A | G | E | (Verse)
(Chorus) Bridge:
| G D | C | G D | C |
| G D | C | F | D | (Verse)
(Chorus) Tag: | G | G | G | E |
Pretty Woman: Time Signature: 4/4 Intro: | E7 | (2/4) E7 | Lick: | E7 | E7 | E7 | E7 | Verse:
| A | F#m | A | F#m |
| D | (2/4) D | E | E |
| E | E | (Lick)
(Verse) Bridge:
| Dm | G | C | Am |
| Dm | G | C | C |
| Dm | G | C | Am |
| Dm | G | C | A | (Lick)
(Verse) Tag: | E |
My Girl: Time signature: 2/4 Bass lick: | C | C | C | C | Guitar lick: | C | C | C | C | Verse:
| C | C | F | F |
| C | Dm | F | G | Chorus:
| C | C | C | C |
| Dm | Dm | G | Dm G | (Verse)
(Chorus)
(Bass lick)
(Guitar lick) Instrumental:
| C | C | F | F |
| Dm | Dm | G | G |
| Em | Em | A | A | Verse3:
| D | D | G | G |
| D | Em | G | A | Chorus3:
| D | D | D | D |
| Em | Em | A | Em A| Tag:
| D | D | D | D |
| Em | Em | A G | F#m Em |
Lay Down Sally: Time signature: 2/4 Intro: | A | A | A7 | A7 | Verse:
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 |
| D | D | A7 | A7 |
| A7 | A7 | D | D |
| E | E | Chorus:
| A | A | D | D |
| E | E | A | A | Vamp: (Intro - repeat once) (Verse)
(Chorus) Solo: (Intro - repeat eight times) (Verse)
(Chorus)
(Vamp)
Redemption Song: Time signature: 4/4 Intro: | G | C G | G | D7 G | Verse:
| G | Em | C C/B | Am |
| G | Em | C | Am |
| G | Em | C C/B | Am |
| G | Em | C | D | D | Chorus:
| G | C D | G | Am D |
| Em | C D | G | C D |
| G | C D | (Verse)
(Chorus) Instrumental: | Em | C D | (Verse)
(Chorus - repeat first line) Tag: | Am | D7 | D7 |
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction:
Time signature: 4/4 Intro: | E | D | E | D | Chorus:
| E | E | A | A |
| E | E | A | A |
| E | B7 | E | A | Verse:
| E | D | E | D |
| E | D | E | D | (Verse)
(Chorus) (Verse)
(Chorus) (Verse)
| 