Beginning your guitar chord study is easier with Leaving On A Jet Plane as its lyrics contain many basic open chords.
Triads are chords consisting of the first, third and fifth notes in their respective major scales.
A chord diagram displays X’s and O’s to indicate which strings should be played and which should be muted.
A Major
Leaving On A Jet Plane was composed in G Major, the third most-popular Major Key and frequently selected for many popular songs. Check out our G Major Guitar Chord Cheat Sheet for easy-to-read diagrams of all chords in this key and their interconnection.
Peter Paul & Mary and John Denver made this popular acoustic guitar song famous, using only three major chords (A, D and E). You can vary the rhythm and intensity as desired to suit your taste. The strum pattern includes four down strums per chord for maximum ease.
Learn John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” note-for-note with this guitar video lesson below! The complete lesson features full lessons videos, performance play thru videos, guitar tabs and lyrics sheets; please log-in or register as a member today to take this song lesson!
D Major
The D chord is one of seven diatonic major scale chords. It can be combined with any major scale note to form root and minor seventh chords; or played as a barre chord by using only four strings – as seen in Example 4a.
All major scales can be divided into two major tetrachords, which consist of four note segments that follow the pattern 2 – 1 – 2. This provides an easy and simple way to recall all of the notes of any key, especially since 4-note patterns tend to be easier than 7 or 8 note patterns.
The D major scale contains two sharps in its key signature, and its relative minor is B minor. This key has been made famous through various songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival (including Bad Moon Rising and Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams ) as well as being used for Franz Schubert’s Prelude No. 15 and Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune respectively.
E Major
John Denver covered Peter Paul and Mary’s rendition of this song for his debut studio album and it quickly became one of his biggest sellers, although it failed to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Although this single did not reach number one it became his biggest sales hit; Denver continued writing hits throughout his life while remaining active politically as well as humanitarian initiatives outside music.
Guitar chords in E Major can be found in numerous songs and albums, due to the way in which it fits naturally with many major keys and contains many chords that fit over it, most commonly triadic but there may also be 7th and suspended chords used frequently.
From iconic rock riffs to some of the earliest pieces of music ever written, an open E chord is an iconic staple. Usually accompanied by a bass note, this chord can help create grooves characteristic of blues music.
G Major
G Major chord is one of the first chords most beginners learn. Situated between two root notes on the fretboard, it makes an ideal way to practice going up and down the neck with ease. Furthermore, its major scale pattern will become apparent as you become adept at reading sheet music.
G chords are accessible for beginners who are just learning guitar, unlike the open D chord which may be difficult for newcomers to hold on to. All that is required is bending your fingers so only their tips touch the strings; this keeps the meaty parts off other strings and prevents buzzing. As an additional option for the G chord, double its fifth instead of its third which creates a stronger sound without overshadowing other chords with its major third sound.