American Pie is an iconic song, known to everyone. This eight-minute opus tells the tale of America’s decline since its glory days of the 1950s.
This book marks the date when rock music came to an end – 3 February 1959, when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash.
1. G Major
G Major scale is a seven-note scale that includes one sharp F# note. Its relative minor key is E minor.
Notes in a scale are generally indicated with H’s and W’s to represent where you need to ascend or descend by half or whole steps (i.e. 1 key up on guitar).
All white keys in this scale share similar fingerings, so picking it up should be fairly straightforward if you already know how to play the C scale well. As is often recommended when learning new things quickly and effectively, starting off slowly with one hand and working your way up gradually through two octaves before trying both hands together is recommended.
2. C Major
C major chord is an essential one to learn for beginners, and this song serves as a fantastic way to practice it while learning proper finger placement and technique.
Beginning guitarists may find this chord challenging as it requires reaching up past the first fret of the fifth string with your second finger. To avoid this issue, try either muzzling it with your thumb or holding onto it with first finger instead of second.
This classic country song offers up uplifting melodies and emotive lyrics that provide new guitar players an ideal opportunity to practice G, D and C chords while having fun. Additionally, its straightforward chord progression enables learners to practice clean chord changes while having plenty of opportunities for practice!
3. D Major
Beginners looking to transition between G and A chords should find the D major chord suitable, as its simple strumming pattern makes transitioning easier. Furthermore, its catchy melody and lyrics convey powerful messages of loyalty and friendship that help students feel connected with their music.
If playing a D barre chord is difficult for you, consider trying the Dsus2 chord shape (also known as an open D chord). It only requires two fingers to fret while leaving one string free.
4. A Major
A major is an easy chord for beginners to start learning on their instrument, often beginning by placing their index finger flat across five or six strings at once and barring. It takes its name from the note your index finger makes when barred; specifically, its note at 5th fret – A.
One variation on this chord is its open A voicing, which removes the high E string to make strumming easier for people with larger fingers and simultaneously strumming multiple strings at once. You could also experiment with different ways of fingering this chord to find out which works best.
5. E Major
E Major is one of the first major chords that newcomers should experiment with, as it can serve as both a root chord, major 7, or open chord.
Like in all major scales, major and minor thirds follow an established pattern between its notes; for instance, between E and G as major thirds while between G-sharp and B as minor thirds; this gives each chord its distinct sound.
6. F Major
F Major is a vital chord, but beginner guitarists may find it challenging to get its strings to resonate properly. This often stems from fingers getting in the way or lack of technique preventing full chord sounds from being achieved.
This simpler version of an F chord involves muting the top E string with your first finger, providing an ideal way to practice barre chord formation and sound amazing when strung along with.
Getting into full F barred shape requires playing chords with ease; to facilitate this goal, lowering your guitar’s action can help make playing these chords simpler, as well as keeping your fingers in their appropriate positions.
7. G/F#
Root notes of chords form their fundamental tones. Without that keystone note (i.e. bass note or lowest tone), no matter how good guitarist and drummer may be; nothing will sound right without its bass note component (the lowest tone).
When chords are written with a “slash”, this signifies the playing position for that chord; to the left of it is where you play your chord; on its right is the bass note for bass players (ie C/G = just play C chord; Em/B=just play E minor chord; G/F# = G major chord but with an F sharp bass note).