No musician in existence has likely never encountered Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah; it is frequently performed by singers and guitarists of every style.
This song is easy to learn as it utilizes mostly open-position chords in the key of C, making it ideal for beginner guitarists looking to develop their fingerstyle skills.
C Am C Am F G
This song has an intimate acoustic sound and uses C, F and G chords – ideal for intimate acoustic performances! Additionally, its combination of C, Am and F chords will surely draw an audience in for a singing performance!
Shelton’s country tune “Take Me Down to the River” is an outstanding example of classic C-Am-F progression music that will leave audiences singing along and playing along on your next gig! Use it for maximum impact!
E7 F G
This chord progression has been around for some time and exists in every major key. It is a straightforward chord movement that doesn’t require anything special from your guitar.
This song part has been covered countless times by musicians of various styles. Written by Canadian national treasure Leonard Cohen, its widespread success makes this its greatest song part.
For this slow song, it can be easy to get off-rhythm. To avoid this happening, try employing the beginner fingerstyle pattern from the Beginner’s Course by accentuating two downward strums per measure in your fingerstyle introductory fingerstyle pattern and accentuating them. This will keep the song moving without sounding overly busy or masking its lyrics. Alternatively, you could arpeggiate chords instead of strumming them.
G Am C Am F G
This song features classic C, Am, F and G chords and makes an ideal selection for intimate acoustic moments. Furthermore, its beautiful sound will showcase your guitar perfectly!
G is an ideal key for beginners as its key signature has few sharps or flats and makes reading sheet music straightforward. Additionally, this key can be found in many classical, country, and rock songs.
Psychoacoustic analysis can provide invaluable help when explaining harmony. With it you will see that B triumphs over all else to give it an unmistakably lydian sound; click here for more on this topic.
D Am C Am F G
Stepping stone version of Hallelujah chords designed to help newcomers get started playing them. Starting out, C and F chords can be strung easily with either a pick (or fingers once you know the rhythm).
The last two chords can be more challenging but are still manageable with a capo. Additionally, they add depth and color to the song while creating a unique progression that mixes melodic minor (Aeolian) tune with chords inherently harmonic minor. This ambiguity is resolved in the second section when going straight harmonic minor; another great illustration of why knowing your major and minor scales well when performing progressions.
E Am C Am F G
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is an easy song for beginning guitarists to learn on guitar, featuring only four chords: C, Am, F and G (open chords). All four chords can be easily learned as this song contains only open chords – making this perfect for beginners!
Experienced musicians may want to explore various patterns. For instance, they could add a bass run between chords by playing an open E string and then picking up a G chord on beat 1 with their left hand on the sixth string second fret – perhaps by adding an open E string first then switching over with their left hand for beat 1.
One effective technique is swapping out major chords for their relative minor chords or vice versa. This works because chords share similar root notes; however, use sparingly as extended chords such as Maj9/m7 will not match up to a minor key’s key signature and sound out-of-tune.