How to Play Guitar Songs

Many beginner guitar players find it very difficult to play even the simplest guitar songs. This is mainly because of not knowing the chord combinations. Guitar songs can be played by ear, if you are well acquainted with the instrument; or can be played by using chord sheets if you are a beginner. Remember that knowing to play guitar songs is totally a matter of learning how to read guitar tabs first and then understanding the relative chords generally used in songs.

Reading Guitar Tablatures

Reading guitar tabs can be an easy process if you become familiar with the numbers and symbols of a tablature. Any guitar tab would comprise six lines which correspond to the six strings of a standard rhythm guitar. On the lines, there are certain numbers and symbols, or a combination of both in complex guitar tablatures. The numbers depict the frets which the player is supposed to position his fingertips on. Number '1' relates to the first fret, '2' means the second, and the counting goes on accordingly. The number '0' tells you to play the string open, without pressing the string on the fretboard. If you happen to see the symbol 'X', note that you are supposed to mute the string. There are many other complicated symbols which can be learned after you cross the beginner stage.

How to Play Guitar Songs

In order to play guitar songs, you will have to practice all major and minor chords and also learn about relative chords. Note that every song starts in a particular scale and chord. If you understand the chord family, you can play any song possible. In a normal song, there are a set of chords for the verse as well as for chorus. Most of the time, the chords in songs are very similar to those in the relative chord family. If you thoroughly practice relative chord combinations, you will easily get to know about the chords in the song. Following are the guitar chord combinations.

Major Chord Combinations

A - D - E - A

B - E - F#- B

C - F - G - C

D - G - A - D

E - A - B - E

F - Bb-C - F

G - C - D - G

These are the major chord combinations used in songs. After you practice well with these chords, you can move on to playing songs which start in the minor scale. The minor chord combinations are shown in the following.

Minor Chord Combinations

F#m - D - E

G#m - E - F#

Am - F - G

Bm - G - A

C#m - A - B

Dm - Bb - C

Em - C - D

These are the minor chord combinations which can be played for a song in a minor scale.

Those wanting to know how to play the guitar should remember that rhythm is also important when playing a song on this musical instrument. You need to practice different rhythms, and use a suitable one in the song as per the beats.

Practice relative chords for at least two hours daily, and you will certainly be able to pick up the chords of any song you happen to hear. A good method of practice is to play the song and play the guitar along with it. There are some songs that have power chords throughout, for which you need to learn power chord combinations. If you want to play guitar songs, free music sheets can be availed from guitar notation websites.