Silent Night is one of the most beloved Christmas songs and it is easy for beginner guitarists to play it. This version utilizes four basic chords most people already know as well as an interesting jazz-influenced variation that introduces you to rootless voicing techniques.
Practice switching between chord shapes at a slow pace until you are confident enough to play at performance speed – this will strengthen your finger strength!
G-D-C-Em
As long as you know and are confident with switching between chords, playing this progression should not present too many difficulties for you. Furthermore, learning this progression provides an effective means of practicing transitioning from Em to C (which for beginners can sometimes be a difficulty), creating different moods within one song with this sequence of chords.
Play this tune in any key, with G major or E minor being the most commonly chosen ones. D chord can be more difficult for some due to taking melody higher than many tenor or alto voices can comfortably sing; however if you learn it on B string at 3rd fret instead, this provides a safer baby-step version which should make learning it a lot simpler for most vocal ranges.
The C chord is one of the simplest chords to learn as it contains only 3 unique notes, although its minor interval adds melancholia and sadness unlike its major chord counterpart.
Do not be discouraged if at first, your chord changes are out of sync with the drums; just practice and you will eventually catch up! For practicing purposes, the audios labelled ‘training’ are ideal as they just feature guitar strumming on beat one and drumming for remaining beats; gradually build up to faster tracks as your skills improve! When practicing, be sure to count out loud each chord change!
D-E-G
Silent Night is an uplifting tune perfect for playing at holiday events or sharing with your friends and family. No matter your skill level or experience level on guitar, everyone can join in the singing of Silent Night by strumming these chords to support its melody. Since this carol is played in 3/4 time – which adds an additional beat per measure – beginners may find it challenging at first to get used to its unique rhythm; practicing by strumming harder on every downbeat can help get used to its pace more quickly.
This song offers simple chords and melody that makes for easy singing, making it ideal for beginners. Additionally, more experienced musicians may enjoy improvising variations to the chords and melody to create interesting variations of its original version.
This song’s chords are all major, which create a bright and upbeat sound. However, minor chords can be formed by adding third and fifth notes from a scale to its root note – for instance if that root note was C, adding these additional notes would create a C minor chord with more somber tones.
The key of G is a great choice for holiday songs, rock and roll and folk. If the key of G is too high for you to sing comfortably, use a capo instead – these chords will still work great!
By placing a capo on the third fret of your guitar, you can raise its pitch by one full tone – making it easier for you to play melody and chords for this song as well as similar tunes written in its key.
Silent Night is an accessible Christmas carol that beginner guitarists can easily play. It requires only three chords to support its melody.
G is the starting chord of every key; counting up musical alphabetically, this note should correspond with your fifth note in key. Therefore, bass singers can start their song from that note.
Practice D and C chords before trying to combine them with your melody!
G-D-C-Em
Silent night is one of the best-known Christmas songs, and learning it on guitar is very straightforward. All it requires are four basic chords which many beginners already possess: G (root), C (fourth), D (fiveth) and Em (sixth). Although it is also playable in F key, beginning guitarists might find this more challenging.
As well as these basic chords, this song features additional ones which you may require practice to master. For instance, the seventh bar requires an F sharp diminished chord; however, you could use any regular D minor chord instead. Another alternative would be for you to skip it altogether and continue the bar without pausing at this seventh bar altogether.
As soon as you have learned the basic chords, move onto fingerstyle patterning. The fingerstyle part of this song follows a straightforward block playing technique; picking strings simultaneously with thumb and three fingers will produce an endearing, soothing sound to complete this piece of music.
Once you’ve mastered chords and fingerstyle, add embellishments with your left hand to give the song more character – this is also an excellent opportunity to showcase your abilities!
For the first two bars of this song, play an open G chord using your left hand. In bars three and four, add G major arpeggio using only your thumb for root note playback and three other fingers to form shapes on strings one through four.
Finish off your song with a D minor arpeggio for the fifth and sixth bars to create an effective endnote. Start off by tapping out the root note with your thumb, followed by placing middle fingers on second fret of A string, while fourth fret of D string for arpeggiation.
Are you searching for more fingerstyle arrangements of classic Christmas carols? Look no further! Download our eBook Christmas Carols For Guitar. It features an impressive array of classic carols arranged into an easy-to-read format with tablature and chords.
If you’re still developing your chord progressions, play along with some slow audios. These will help keep the beat and eventually allow you to play full speed songs. Start off by starting with some one-minute clips before gradually increasing speed until you can play an entire song in an acceptable pace.