At some point, you should be able to easily place each chord shape on the fretboard and strum it to hear if its notes sound clear. If they don’t, inspect each string/note individually to make sure none have been muffled by stray fingers that shouldn’t be there.
Keep your fretting hand steady – neither too close nor far behind the guitar. This helps avoid painful and difficult to play through kinks in your stringing.
Wild Horses
Chords are the foundation of any song. A chord consists of several notes played together at once and can either be major or minor in nature; an easy way to tell is by looking at its name: major ones have capital letters while minor chords include an “m”.
This straightforward country song makes an excellent starting point for new guitar players as its easy four chord composition and upbeat pace make it suitable for beginning players to grasp quickly.
To play this song, your guitar must be tuned to Open G tuning – this may take extra work but will pay dividends! Tuning will give you an understanding of the song while showing you how easy chord switching can be. Furthermore, practicing chord repetition helps beginners build memory while improving physical positioning on their instrument.
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door is one of the simpler beginner guitar songs that anyone can learn quickly. Written by Bob Dylan and featuring a basic chord progression consisting of G, D and A chords, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door makes for a fun party tune sure to get people singing along!
Learning basic chords takes some practice, but the end result will make the effort worthwhile: once you master five chords, you can play an array of popular songs!
If you want to start learning guitar chords, check out my free guide on how to play guitar chords for beginners. This contains all of the information necessary to get you going on this path. In addition, subscribe to my newsletter for even more helpful guitar tips and tricks – I will send free video lessons that can help make you an even greater guitarist!
Sweet Home Alabama
This song has become a favorite at American parties and gatherings. Based around C, D and G open chord shapes, it makes an excellent opportunity to practice strumming with. Furthermore, its dynamic melody also serves as an engaging riff that runs over top of chord progressions for an enjoyable listening experience.
Make sure that your fingers are placed properly on the frets to get maximum sound from each note. Your first finger should rest directly on a fret, not too near or far away from it. Also be sure to play each string/note by itself to make sure there’s no muffled or muted notes.
This song is one of the most beloved country bar staples and an easy one to learn on an acoustic guitar. With simple chords that recur throughout most of its four minutes long version and its upbeat rhythm, this makes an excellent party song! Sing along at your next gathering!
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
This song is an ideal starting point for beginners as its repetitious chord progression helps build muscle memory and physical positioning of fingers on fretboard, as well as honing staccato-style strumming patterns that complement multiple genres of music.
This country hit is an excellent choice for beginner guitar players as it only employs two chords that can be strumming with ease by most beginning players – C and G chords are used here; strumming these can create an easy rhythmic pattern to learn quickly.
This song is great fun to play with friends because its open chords are simple for most beginners to finger. These “cowboy chords,” also referred to as open chords, allow strings to ring freely without frets being press down; beginners should note that barre (pronounced bar) chords require multiple fingers pressing all at the same time on multiple strings at once – requiring much more finesse from newcomers!