British alternative rock band Coldplay’s Viva la Vida is an unforgettable song, inspiring millions around the globe with its beautiful chords and progression, coupled with introspective lyrics that touch listeners’ lives and leave a lasting impression.
Many songs use the same chord progression over and over, which may become tiresome after repeated listening sessions. While repetition does not necessarily equal boredom, it can quickly become repetitive over time.
C Major
C Major is an ideal starting point for learning guitar. It contains all white piano keys with no flats or sharps – making it easy for beginners to understand and learn.
Like all scales, the C major scale features various finger positions that you should practice to develop finger dexterity so that you can more quickly navigate around the fretboard.
This first diagram depicts the fingerings for playing C major in its open position. This position covers two strings, requiring you to use your index finger on notes at the 1st fret, middle finger on 2nd fret and ring finger for notes at 3rd fret – these same fingerings can also be applied when playing other major scale patterns.
D Major
D Major is one of five fundamental shapes used for learning guitar chords and can be found throughout popular music – Led Zeppelin, U2, KT Tunstall and Bryan Adams have all used it!
Beginners often struggle to master the D chord, as it requires finding its shape confidently under their fingers before muted the lower two strings – this can be done by wrapping one hand around the back of their neck to just touch on E string or by using finger four to play A string while leaving D string open.
D chords often feature sus2 (suspended) or D/A voicings to add some variety and color to their sound. Explore different combinations, as well as adding hammer-ons and pull-offs for extra complexity.
E Major
E Major is an attractive and bright key that is used to form many different chords, making it one of the most commonly utilized keys in all of music and ideal for beginners to start learning their instrument.
The Guitar Scales page offers more in-depth details about this scale’s notes, formula, positions and chords.
To create an E major chord, place your first finger on E, second finger on G#, and third finger on B. This follows the same formula as any major chord except that its tonal center will be lower. For added variation try employing secondary dominant chords (E dominant 7 on G) or A mixolydian.
G Major
G Major is one of the most frequently-used keys across genres of music. It can be heard in songs such as Sweet Home Alabama and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door; additionally it features in major pieces like Edvard Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 2 and Camille Saint-Saens’ Piano Sonata No. 2.
G major is an ideal choice for beginner guitarists as it has only one sharp note (F#), with straightforward finger positions making musical notation easily interpretable and faster learning of chord progressions.
To play G major, begin by studying its scale patterns on the fretboard. Practice these slowly so as to memorize each note. When you feel you know this scale well enough, use it to build some triads.
A Major
Viva la Vida is an engaging guitar song to learn. Using only basic chords, its structure makes learning it simple; adding a capo on the first fret makes strumming open chords simpler while using finger pulses can add interest if that feels comfortable to you. Vary between normal and power chords to keep things interesting!
Viva la Vida is written in F Minor, according to Theorytab it is the 8th most popular minor key and 19th overall – making this an excellent starting point for new musicians wanting to start learning music.