Discover how to play Taylor Swift’s Love Story song on guitar quickly and effortlessly with our video and chord chart below.
Some songs use complex and unusual chord voicings to add interest and depth, while others opt for regular chords that can be played without sounding too hackneyed – this E minor add9 chord is an example of such regularity; you could also move it around the fretboard for other interesting variations.
Intro
Chords are the foundation of songwriting. Comprised of two or more notes sounded simultaneously, chords can range from easy power chords for punk music to complex two-handed chords that might appear during jazz performances.
As part of guitar chord theory, we start from scratch by studying triads – these basic chord building blocks. A C chord will serve as its core; to form it you will then add E and G notes as necessary.
To play a triad, your fingers must be in their proper positions. To assist with this task, number your fingers on your left hand and imagine frets across them – each fret represents half a tone away; to begin playing you must ensure all your fingers are in their respective places!
Verse 1
This verse starts in a major key and utilizes two major chords and a secondary dominant chord to modulate to E major, making for an extremely popular chord progression found in popular songs such as Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” Howie Day’s “Collide”, and Adele’s chorus and verse of “Someone Like You”. Furthermore, its higher chord-melody tension makes for two simple periods during its use from bars 9 – 23 and 25-31 respectively.
Verse 2
Most songs follow a verse-chorus format. Verse two typically includes a repeat of the melodic and chordal accompaniment from verse 1, while it can often go beyond this by further developing something or someone.
Instrumentation can also help build on the original introduction of verse 1. For instance, a bass line with random echo effects might be followed by a guitar picking fuller chords in verse 2, or the drum beat might change from having both hi-hat and bass drum combined into just hi-hat and snare for smaller effect. Vocal harmonies are another effective way of adding dimension to verse 1 introductions, particularly when they differ among singers.
Chorus
Chords are essential parts of music and an integral component of guitar playing. Comprised of three or more notes played simultaneously, chords can be found across all styles from country to pop music – learning them can help make you a better singer and gain more insight into songwriting!
Major triads tend to have upbeat tones, while minor ones have more somber sounding notes due to intervals between their notes in the chord.
Some of the easiest chord songs to learn include Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival; both songs use three chords that are simple for beginners to play.
Bridge
Love Story features an easy guitar chord progression made up of G and C chords for its bridge, making for a memorable part of the song that features a repeating melodic motif throughout its guitar solo. Furthermore, here you can add your personal stamp by altering rhythm or strumming patterns accordingly.
Taylor Swift’s hit song is set in D Major. According to TheoryTab’s database, D Major is one of the two most frequently played major keys. Additionally, this key offers more complexities when it comes to Chord-Melody Tension than most songs – it is recommended that this song is practiced slowly to medium tempo for optimal results.
Are you familiar with the opening banjo licks to this song? Please share in the comments!