All you need for a good song is “three chords and the truth.” – Willie Nelson.
Yup! It’s that simple!
This post is for those too daunted to pick up the guitar because of the hundreds of chords they think they need to carry a decent tune. Truth is, you only need to know a few to play hundreds of songs – from old favorites to modern rock.
I don’t claim to be a guitar wiz, but I’ve gotten by with three of the most common guitar chords everyone should know.
Not only can you play darn near anything with these chords, they’re super simple to play.
Harry Nilsson, for one, prized simplicity in his songwriting so much that he used a single chord (an arpeggiated C7th) to brilliant effect in his 1972 hit, “Coconut.”
Others including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Jimmy Buffet, Jimi Hendrix, Jack White, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses, Cat Stevens, Alice in Chains, Nirvana and countless others have caught our ear with songs that are simple in structure but profound in impact with this simple method.
To understand the simplicity of this better, check out this video titled ‘Four Chords’ by Axis of Awesome.
In a nutshell, a lot of modern day pop songs are based around the same four chords. Those four chords can differ depending on the key, and has all to do with progression. The I-V-vi-IV progression for its technical term.
Ed Sheeran
He’s among the chart toppers of today using this progression to good affect and proud of it too.
While on a Dutch show, he decided to prove that the four chord theory is littered amongst modern music, and played a few songs to demonstrate his point, starting with Let It Go, by his mate Passenger.
Sheeran goes on to request challenges so that he can prove his point, playing through Craig David, The Beatles, and The Spice Girls and finishing with a nice Bruno Mars medley.
Ed proves without doubt that this simple repetitive progression, rampant in modern music, is a winner if you can pull it off!
So back to you...
If you’ve mastered the G-C-D combination and can tackle most songs but want variety in your performances, the other major chord groups to learn are C-F-G and D-G-A. The E chord for sure too.
The following is my top-10 list of 3-chord guitar songs that are not only easy to learn, but also popular enough to get others singing along with you.
“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison
“Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
“Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash
“House of the Rising Sun” by Animals
“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan
“Horse with No Name” by America
“Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison
“Undone the Sweater Song” by Weezer
“Amazing Grace” (Tab says you should play an Em, but you can play G in its place)
There are a truckload of more songs that can be played with a minimum of chords, and, you can use G-C-D to improvise, including giving rap songs like “Ice Ice Baby” the full treatment.
For more resources and songs head to Ultimate Guitar and Guitar Tricks. My go to places.
Remember, before you tackle these groups of chords and start strumming, keep in mind that it is as important to learn the proper ways to switch between chords too.
Go get ’em tiger… The world has room for one more rockstar!
Derek J. Wheeler 