Amazing Grace is one of the best-known Christian songs and frequently performed during church services. Additionally, its popularity among human rights activists stems from being written by John Newton who had served as an Atlantic sea slave trader before writing this song himself.
This song can be played in many different ways; here are a few examples:
Beginner’s version
Amazing Grace is one of those classic songs that should be familiar to all. A popular funeral hymn, it also makes its rounds at regular church services and spiritual gatherings outside a religious context. Learning it should be easy: just four open chords: G major, C major, D major and E minor make for a straightforward learning process.
As this song is in 3/4 time, it’s wise to practice strumming in that rhythm before tackling its chord progression. To stay on time while you play, try tapping your foot as you go! This is an excellent way to improve timing when playing music!
If you’re new to fingerpicking, there are various versions of Amazing Grace you should explore. Starting off with Mississippi John Hurt-style fingerpicking arrangements which include melody and chords. Next comes an intricate version using barre chords; once comfortable with those, move onto full chord progressions.
Intermediate’s version
Amazing Grace is one of the best-known Christian hymns. Written by John Newton – once an Atlantic slave trader himself – its lyrics describe God’s unconditional love for humanity and are especially beloved among Christians as well as human rights activists. Recently featured in the movie Amazing Grace which chronicled William Wilberforce’s efforts to abolish slavery in England.
Amazing Grace’s chords are relatively straightforward and accessible for beginners, using open chords which require minimal finger movement to learn. Furthermore, its rhythm provides an opportunity to practice strumming on time while tapping your feet to keep time with its beat.
Once you’ve mastered the chord progression, it’s time to put all your energy into the rest of the song. Play this version at a slow tempo with an eye toward maintaining accuracy.
Advanced’s version
Amazing Grace is one of the world’s most beloved songs, featured at church services and spiritual gatherings alike, funeral services, memorial services and jam sessions alike. It has also been covered by many renowned musicians; making this song easy for anyone to learn.
To play this song in G key, it will require knowledge of its chords – which should not be too difficult! Once this step is accomplished, practice strumming patterns by listening to the rhythm of the song and strumming along to its beat – tapping your foot helps keep track of this beat too! Lastly, add variations on certain chords for some extra flair in your playing!
Fingerpicking version
Amazing Grace is an iconic folk song that can be performed many different ways, from strumming to fingerpicking and is a perfect song for beginners due to its easy chord progression and many patterns within its chords, such as its use of the “3-2 fret combination” for G, A and D chords.
Keep in mind that this song is in 3/4 time, which means each chord gets three beats. While this can be challenging for some to keep up with, tapping your foot while strumming will help physically keep time.
Here is a video featuring a fingerstyle instrumental version of this song, along with lessons and performance play-through videos, guitar tabs and statistics and marketing cookies for this lesson. Please be aware that YouTube account registration and acceptance of statistics and marketing cookies is required in order to participate.