Guitar chords ‘Let Her Go’ by Passenger is an accessible song for beginners to play, featuring open chords that should not prove difficult for novice guitarists.
Looking at a chord chart will reveal that fretted strings are indicated with numbers while open strings are denoted by 0. Downstrokes can be played using your picking hand while upstrokes require no assistance from it.
1. C Major
C Major is one of the easiest keys to learn, making it an excellent place for beginners. This key utilizes only white notes on piano without needing sharps or flats – perfect for beginning players!
Many musicians believe that songs in the key of C evoke feelings of strength and happiness, making it the go-to key for radio hits and pop songs alike.
Scales in this key use finger positions that will allow you to develop dexterity quickly, as well as touch them to their respective frets quickly. A thorough knowledge of scales and chords will enable you to communicate the language of music easily; this will allow for faster learning, improved playing, and easier improvising.
2. F Major
F major is an essential guitar chord to have in your repertoire of chords. It can be utilized in numerous songs, and its progression can add variety. F major works well if you want to evoke feelings of defiance with its subtle minor to major shift which helps build this emotion into your music.
Beginners may find this chord difficult to play as it requires using the full barre and your finger on the second fret. Once mastered however, this chord can be used in many popular songs and help develop skills to change flats to sharps when learning guitar. This step is key when learning how to play!
3. A Major
Nothing says late ’90s rock quite like this chord progression, which can be found across most genres and is very straightforward to play on any guitar. Additionally, drop D tuning provides players with additional hand comfort.
This chord progression gives the song an air of sadness and melancholy. The transition from minor chords in verse to F chord in chorus is subtle yet effective in creating contrast between these sections of music.
Beginners looking for their first chord progression should try learning this one. It is easy to strum, and depending on your level of playing ability you may even choose to fingerpick or fast-strum the chords if desired. All that’s required for its mastery are open G, C and D chord shapes.
4. G Major
G Major is one of the most frequently utilized keys in Western music. This key features only one sharp (F sharp), making it an excellent choice for new guitarists and singers to start out with. When played with a capo on the seventh fret, this song uses chords from the ‘C family’ chord family for this tune.
Key of F is used by both the British and New Zealand national anthems and can often be heard in country, pop, rock and classical music genres.
G Major follows the pattern found in other major scales with its root G, major third A and perfect fifth C as its notes. Chords formed with this key use the same technique – placing index finger on fifth fret, middle finger on sixth fret and ring finger on seventh fret to complete their formation.
5. E Major
E, like C and G, contains four sharps in its key signature and is played using four black keys. Like its cousins C and G, this key signature uses the same fingering for both hands; start your left hand off on E with its thumb then index finger on second fret followed by middle finger on third fret and pinky on fourth fret before starting your right hand on E with thumb, index finger, middle finger, pinky and pinky on fourth fret respectively.
No matter your musical taste – whether country with a gritty twang or modern pop/rock – E chords are a versatile component in both genres. Listen out for them in classic country songs by Patsy Cline (I Fall to Pieces) and Reba McEntire (In the Midnight Hour). Or try strumming “S.O.B” by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats to rock out to. These E chords move well between F and their tonic tonic note of A minor.