Released by Sting and the Police in 1983, Every Breath You Take remains their signature song for beginners to learn and enjoy. Although simple in concept, its string skipping requirements can make this track somewhat challenging to play along to.
Utilize a smaller-scale guitar or parlor acoustic to ease chord changes more smoothly, and take advantage of any pauses for added groove.
1. C Major
Discover guitar chords to The Police’s Every Breath You Take song via Uberchord app, where you’ll also find lyrics and a strumming trainer.
This progression is in C major. To play it successfully, you’ll need to be familiar with fingering the first position of the C Major scale; although this requires you to move your fingers frequently around, it should actually be simpler than 4th position playing.
2. D Major
D Major is a key with two sharps, and can be used to play chords in songs like Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams.
All major scales can be broken into two major tetrachords (a 4-note segment with the pattern 2-2-1). As it’s much easier for beginners to remember four notes than seven or eight notes, this approach proves especially helpful.
3. E Major
Starting and ending with E, this key features four sharps for beginners to memorize. Due to this abundance of sharps, memorizing this scale can be difficult unless one practices regularly with it.
E Major is an effective chord to add an emotive charge to any progression, from party jams to laments for lost love. Additionally, its use with other chords makes for a smooth experience!
4. F Major
F major has its own special flat note: B-flat. However, don’t let that put you off; once you understand its key signature it becomes much simpler to learn chords in F major.
Always practice F major scale patterns in all keys, counting out each note to find its scale degree on the fretboard and understand how chords ‘connect’ based on their place in the scale.
5. G Major
G Major chord is an accessible beginner chord that can be found in many songs. To play it, place your index finger on the first fret of A string and your ring and pinky fingers on third frets of B and D strings respectively.
Practice strumming a G chord for four beats before shifting to either C or D chord and back again. Don’t forget to keep your fingers curved so they won’t mute any of the strings!
6. A Major
G major is one of the first scales a guitarist should study because it’s relatively straightforward theoretically and, combined with its harmonization, allows you to form basic chord progressions.
The G chord may seem daunting at first glance, but it is an essential building block of music. Let’s learn its various forms – beginning with barre chord version.
7. B Major
A7 chord is an extremely flexible chord that can be utilized across various genres and subgenres of songs, from Don McClean’s melancholy American Pie to Guns ‘n Roses’ Live and Let Die; its versatility lies in its power to transform songs.
B Major is known for having fewer open strings than other scales, but still offers a range of guitar chord progressions to choose from – one such being The Police’s Every Breath You Take.
8. C Minor
Mixing different chords to achieve the same effect can add texture to your music, which is known as using different’sound colors’ to achieve similar effects.
Sting’s popular song Every Breath You Take features both major and minor add9 chords, creating a richer sounding song.
These chord progression templates make it easy to play doo-wop songs like Let’s Twist Again and Stand By Me in the key of Ab.
9. D Minor
Chord progressions are like formulas for creating great sounding melodies. By using chord progressions during practice sessions and developing an ear for how chords interact with one another, you can speed up practice sessions and gain more understanding about chord harmonies.
D minor chords feature a soulful sound that many songwriters and composers find attractive, making them simple yet striking accompaniment to their works. Furthermore, playing them is relatively straightforward but knowing how to build them correctly requires understanding something known as chord scale formula.
10. E Minor
E Minor chord is one of the most frequently employed doo-wop chords, used in songs by Chubby Checker like Let’s Twist Again and Sting’s 1983 hit Every Breath You Take.
The open position shape for an E minor chord in standard tuning is often the easiest way to play an E minor chord, making it simple and accessible for players of any level. Your pointer finger can then act as a barre (bar) which makes moving it around effortless.