Having built a solid foundation around the major chords G, C and D, you can massively expand your ability to play songs just by adding two more chords to your repertoire. Using the same techniques as in the previous chapter, let’s learn another two major chords and open up a stack of song possibilities.
A Major
So with the A Major chord we only strum from the 5th string, similar to how the C major chord is played. Remember to check your finger positions, strum the chord, and then play through the arpeggio to check that each note makes a clear sound. This helps your ears tell you if you’re playing it correctly.
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Pay close attention to where your fingers are placed and study the shape. A Major can be a difficult chord to sound correctly when you begin, as your fingers are close together within the second fret. But keep at it, and focus on playing A Major until you’ve memorized the shape.
Try a simple riff based on the song ‘Wild Thing’.
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Rock and Roll! Now let’s try learning an E Major chord to really start playing some cool tunes.
E Major
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Check your fingers are lined up in the right spots, then strum through the chord, playing all six strings this time. Now try checking the sound of each of the notes by playing the arpeggio.
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Try the ‘Wild Thing’ riff in E.
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Combining the two chords
Remember to start slowly, and concentrate on staying in time. Don’t worry if it feels too slow, because the speed will flow naturally as you practice. Trying to play things too quickly to begin with is a common problem for beginners, who then become frustrated with their lack of progress. Start slow, and you’ll build on the basics to improve quickly.
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Cool, so now you can combine all your chord knowledge to play some more great song ideas. Play along with my audio examples, or practice the chord progressions on your own. Hopefully you’re using a metronome and focusing on staying in time. Remember that you’ll get improve more rapidly if you start slowly and build up in tempo as you go.
Expand the ‘Wild Thing’ type riff with this ‘Wild Thing’ based chorus idea.
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The following progression is similar to the verse of ‘Patience’ by Guns n Roses.
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The final two exercises are also designed to train your ears to listen to rhythm. There’s no rhythm notation, so just listen closely and copy the audio example.
This exercise is based on the U2 song ‘Desire’.
Play the chords:
D, A, E, A, E (repeat)
Notice my audio includes a repeat, and finishes on E.
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This may remind you of the classic Van Morrison song ‘Gloria’
Play the chords:
E, D, A (repeat)
Notice my audio includes a repeat, and finishes on the A.
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Once again, listen to the example to decide the rhythm – get those ears working for you! You’re now playing chords from some of the most famous songs ever strummed on a guitar – so go and have some fun imagining you’re up on stage!
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