Chords are essential elements in creating any song. Learning even just a few basic chords opens up an abundance of musical opportunities and will enable you to play songs from varying genres.
Barre chords can be intimidating to newcomers as they require one or more fingers to press down multiple frets simultaneously. But with practice they become much simpler.
XO by John Mayer
Guitar beginners often feel intimidated by all of the chords to learn, yet there are several easy songs which can help build their chord shapes and finger patterns.
Chords are groups of three or more notes played simultaneously on two or more strings to produce melodies in songs. When reading chord charts, X’s and O’s don’t refer to kisses and hugs — they indicate which strings to mute for optimal playing performance.
Something by George Harrison
George was often outshone by Lennon and McCartney as master songwriters, yet rarely contributed more than a couple songs per Beatles LP. With Something, however, George proved he could write songs just as effectively as his bandmates did.
Dave Grohl, former member of Nirvana and leader of the Foo Fighters, dedicated this song on his first album as a tribute to Harrison. It is currently one of the two most recorded Beatles tracks after Yesterday, being covered by various musicians across genres and generations.
Someone You Loved by Shania Twain
Twain’s pop perfection can be seen through her song’s mix of twangy guitar, stadium rock guitar riffs, bouncy swaying percussion and lush synths – not forgetting Twain’s vocal performance which never becomes lost within all the production.
Twain was raised in Timmins, Ontario, where she experienced financial difficulty as she made ends meet. In 2022 she shared this experience in a Netflix documentary entitled Not Just A Girl and published an autobiography at that same time.
Always by Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi released “Always,” a power ballad that explores themes of love, longing and regret.
Jon Bon Jovi wrote the song while suffering a bad hangover at a hotel room, asking the concierge for a piano so he could write the lyrics to it.
Marty Callner directed this music video featuring Jack Noseworthy, Carla Gugino, Jason Wiles and Keri Russell – it hails from Cross Road’s 1994 album Cross Road and its song.
Better Together by Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson has become renowned for crafting lyrics that are accessible and relatable; Better Together is no different. It depicts an idealistic romantic relationship.
This song is ideal for beginners looking to learn open chords – they are easier to remember and great for newcomers. Chord charts can also help visualizing where your fingers should go on the fretboard; an X indicates not playing that string while an O indicates playing it.
Heaven by Bryan Adams
A classic ballad that celebrates love and commitment. The song underscores how you can count on your partner no matter what happens; its lyrics also stress how finding heaven in someone you love requires remaining faithful to them.
Bryan Adams released this power ballad on his 1983 album A Night in Heaven and it became his first #1 hit single. Two videos for the song were created – with one depicting a girl leaving her drunk-driving boyfriend behind and wandering into one of Bryan Adams concerts to lock eyes with him!
I Will Always Love You by Extreme
Chords are fragments of scales stacked at intervals to form chords with different sounds and chord shapes using only notes that appear together.
This song’s music is softly played from a single acoustic guitar, emphasizing its meaning by showing that all you need is love for someone – no big band required!
Practice open and power chords is also an effective way of speeding up finger movement and getting faster results.
I Love You by Eric Clapton
This song depicts a man who loves his woman so deeply that he’s unable to rest at night, wanting her to know that whatever it takes, he will do anything for her.
Eric Clapton composed several songs about his relationship with Pattie Boyd during this period, starting with Layla as an attempt to win her away from George Harrison and later Wonderful Tonight while waiting for her to arrive for an event.
EC kickstarts this riff with a double string stomp and then creates a short sweet melodic lick in A minor scale using hammer-on/pull-off combos at 12th fret (Pattern 4). He also employs Pattern 1 pentatonic sequences.