Starting off as a beginner guitarist can be daunting but learning the guitar chords to “Happy Birthday” should be among their first songs to learn – it is simple and everyone recognizes its melody!
This song is in 3/4 time, which means there are three beats per bar. The song begins with two pickup notes on an open G string guitar; one on the first beat of measure 1 and another one four beats later in measure 1.
C Major
Beginners to guitar can benefit from starting off by learning a simple song such as Happy Birthday. This will allow them to get familiar with chord progression and melody as well as practice their strumming pattern by using downstrokes for chords and upstrokes for melody lines.
C major is an ideal beginning chord to master because it’s straightforward and sounds good; additionally, many popular songs incorporate it. Starting here can only help your guitar journey!
As another way of making it sound more interesting, try playing G chord before or after this one to spice it up a little more. Additionally, try matching your voice pitch with what chords you’re playing – this takes practice but can really bring out your best playing! To help master this skill quickly and improve your playing quickly. Practice regularly until familiarity sets in.
G Major
Learning Happy Birthday in three-four time is straightforward and requires little more than familiarizing yourself with its chords; once learned, strumming patterns make the song sound smoother. Remembering its 3/4 time signature should also aid your efforts as there are three beats per measure should make learning this song easy!
G major is an ideal key for guitarists, featuring minimal sharps and flats in its scale. Additionally, this scale serves as the official key of both British and New Zealand anthems, making it suitable for many genres of music such as classical, country and rock.
Once you have mastered basic chords, add some embellishments like arpeggios and hammer-ons to make your playing more interesting and help speed up improvement. Also try practicing using a metronome to keep rhythm consistent, as this is an invaluable way to hone your skills as well as learn different keys of music.
D Major
Learning guitar chords may seem challenging at first, but with practice you’ll soon be playing simple songs such as Happy Birthday – perfect for impressing guests at parties! This tune is simple yet impressive to master and a great way to show off your newfound talents!
Happy Birthday begins with D Major chord, played by pressing your pointer finger onto the 2nd fret of A string and placing middle finger at 3rd fret of low E string; press down ring finger at high E string – all done within three steps!
This chord is commonly referred to as a “claw”, due to the shape your fingers create when strumming it. On “Friends”, Phoebe gave an excellent demonstration of it which you can watch below. Though more advanced than G Major chord, Claw can still be played easily on both acoustic and electric guitars for beginners to learn.
E Major
One way to commemorate one’s birthday is with a party with friends, where guests enjoy sweets such as candy and cake all day long – one of the happiest events that could possibly happen! For children especially this experience is truly unforgettable!
“Happy Birthday” is an ideal first song to learn for beginners as it only uses four chords and uses 3/4 time – meaning each quarter note gets one beat – making it easier to remember and practice switching chords.
Play this song using either an acoustic or electric guitar; its strumming pattern is straightforward with downward strums for each chord. The difficult part will be matching melody to chords; with practice this will become easier – a metronome may help.