Hallelujah is a Hebrew term meaning, “Praise the Lord,” found frequently throughout Old Testament Book of Psalms, often at either end or beginning of each Psalm. Later translated to Latin as Alleluia.
Happiness and triumph are often associated with Easter, but its meaning extends well beyond religious context.
1. G Major
G Major is an ideal key signature for both guitar and piano – two instruments often seen in popular and classical Western music – due to its single sharp. Playing these keys is much simpler than other keys with multiple sharps that may require multiple sharps for them to work smoothly together.
Utilizing our free guide, learn to play G Major scales slowly before progressing to playing both hands simultaneously – this will allow your muscles to strengthen so you can switch chords without losing your place!
G Major chord is often found in hymns and religious songs, but is also frequently utilized by artists such as Ed Sheeran in Thinking Out Loud, Taylor Swift in Shake It Off, Flosstradamus’ Prison Riot! Additionally, G Major is one of the most frequently utilized chords in Rock music as well as uptempo Dance Music genres such as Drum n Bass House Trap etc.
2. C Major
C Major is often the go-to key for beginning guitarists. All chords in C Major use white keys exclusively, similar to A minor. Although most songs can be performed in any major key, C Major’s first and tonic note (what number systems would call 1) tends to feel most at home for most people.
To play in this key signature, begin at C and place your thumb underneath your 3rd finger; gradually work up through D, E, F, G and B using only 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st fingers as you use four thumbs instead of flats or sharps in this pattern. It should help you quickly learn all other scales. And best of all? No flats or sharps needed here!
3. E Major
E major is an easy key to play using only one sharp, making chord progression effortless with any set of fingers. Starting at its root note (E), chords move gradually upward in whole or half steps until reaching their final notes in their progression pattern.
At first, this pattern will take some practice as your ring finger may not lay across all the strings easily; but keep practicing and eventually it will become part of your natural guitar playing style.
To gain a greater knowledge of the E major scale, try practicing playing arpeggios ascending and descending. This will build up a stronger musical foundation, as well as enable you to craft more engaging music. Or try transposing songs into its key of E for another way of discovering its chords.
4. D Major
D Major is a key that frequently features repeated notes at an octave higher, helping it sound complete and round off its sound.
Leonard Cohen famously included the D chord in his Hallelujah. Led Zeppelin also used this chord extensively during Over the Hills and Far Away.
Example 4a illustrates the most frequently used open voicing for a D chord, featuring D as its lowest note at the tenth fret of string 6. However, alternative brighter versions can also be achieved using only four strings at any one time.
Dan Farrant is a composer, teacher and musician based out of Hello Music Theory. With 15 years of teaching experience under his belt and a passion for helping his students discover music’s joy, Dan loves helping students experience its power first hand.
5. F Major
F major is one of the most frequently used keys for both triad chords and four note extended chords (major seventh and dominant seventh). F major features a flat on its circle of fifths and can be considered the relative minor of D minor.
Major scales are remarkably simple to remember, breaking down into two four-note segments called tetrachords (also referred to as tetrachords) with the sequence 2-2-1. Each major tetrachord has its own name based on its scale degree and tonic note (called the tonic or first note of any major scale).
These names can help you name chords in any key. Remember that major chords are shown with Roman Numerals while minor and diminished chords are written using lowercase letters – this will allow your fingers to stay in their proper places while playing each chord.