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Guitar lessons for beginners – Easy two chord country songs to play on guitar

By Mike Hayes | November 15, 2009

What better place to start learning country guitar than with two
chord songs using easy chord shapes; the problem is finding songs
with easy chord shapes.

Often the best approach is to select a song and use a capo to
convert difficult chord shapes into guitar friendly chords.

Regardless of how difficult the chords may look in the sheet
music it’s relatively easy to change then into chord shapes you
like to play.

Here we go:

Easy two chord country songs with simple chord shapes

Achy Breaky Heart

A /// | A /// | A /// | E /// |

E /// | E /// | E /// | A /// ||

A chord shape

—0—-
—2—-
—2—-
—2—-
—0—-
—x—-

E chord shape

—0—-
—0—-
—1—-
—2—-
—2—-
—0—-

Let’s say you find the “A” shape chord awkward to play no matter
how hard you practice your fingers don’t seem to fit behind the
second fret on the second, third and fourth strings; a simple
solution would be to use a “G” shape chord with the capo placed
behind the second fret.

With a capo placed behind the second fret you could use easy
chord shapes like “G” & “D” and now Achy Breaky Heart would
look like this:

Achy Breaky Heart (capo 2nd fret)

G /// | G /// | G /// | D /// |

D /// | D /// | D /// | G /// ||

G chord shape

—3—-
—0—-
—0—-
—0—-
—X—-
—x—-

D chord shape

—2—-
—3—-
—2—-
—0—-
—x—-
—x—-

This version of Achy Breaky Heart would most likely suit many
guitarist as the “G” shape chord is often easier to play than the
“A” especially if you have big fingers.

By using the capo in this way you as still playing the song in
the same key as the recorded version only using easier chord
shapes.

Here’s another song to try, do you notice anything familiar? Deep
In The Heart Of Texas has exactly the same chord progression as
Achy Breaky Heart!

Notice how I create chord progression templates with four bar to
a line, it’s easy to spot chord progression similarities when you
set out your songs this way, it also makes it easy to remember
them.

Deep In The Heart Of Texas

A /// | A /// | A /// | E /// |

E /// | E /// | E /// | A /// ||

Another two chord country favorite is Jambalya:

Jambalya

E /// | E /// | B7/// | B7/// |

B7/// | B7/// | E /// | E /// |

E /// | E /// | B7/// | B7/// |

B7/// | B7/// | E /// | E /// ||

B7 chord shape

—2—-
—0—-
—2—-
—1—-
—2—-
—x—-

I’ve presented Jambalya in the key of E which would be quite
difficult to play for the beginner guitarist, this would be
another instance when using a capo would be the recommend way to
go.

Solution: Place the capo behind the second fret and use the
following chord progression.

Jambalya (capo 2nd fret)

D /// | D /// | A7/// | A7/// |

A7/// | A7/// | D /// | D /// |

D /// | D /// | A7/// | A7/// |

A7/// | A7/// | D /// | D /// ||

A7 chord shape

—0—-
—2—-
—0—-
—2—-
—0—-
—x—-

Did you notice that although “Jambalya” seems to be a more
complicated chord progression, in reality it’s just the first
eight bars repeated again!

The templates for each of these songs are not simplified versions
of the songs they are exactly the same progressions used on the
recordings and as you can see when songs are presented this way
it’s very easy to remember the chord progression and play them on
the guitar.

By now I bet you are ready to start cranking out more songs on
the guitar in less time than you ever thought possible, right?
So then now get FREE Instant Access to my “How To Remember 1,000
Songs” eCourse. When you visit: http://www.guitarcoaching.com

You’ll get the first of my instant “Song Templates” to get you
playing guitar in less time than you thought possible.

From Mike Hayes – The Guitar Coaching Guy & the Express Guitar
System

Topics: Beginner Guitar Lesson, Camp Songs, Country Guitar | No Comments »

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