Worship Guitar Lessons The Key of G The Basics: Here are the basic chords in the key of G in their simplest fingerings:
Making use of common notes: When I play in the key of G, I often use these chords to make use of some shared notes between the chords:
The Dsus4 is best if only used in passing. It has an unresolved feel and you can lift the 4th finger to go down to the typical D chord. Melody in the Chords: You can add melodies while still playing these chords. This method can become very advanced, but I've just included some of the most basic possibilities here: Note: I try not to focus so much on the letter names of these chords (although it is handy to know them), and instead I focus on the melody created when cycling through the different variations. You enter a whole new realm of possibilities on the guitar when you stop viewing your playing as just going from chord to chord, but as a constantly changing combination of melodies, harmonies and chords. I will include more advanced charts and information about this in the future but in these sections we will touch on some of the basics.
First, you'll note that I have kept the 3rd and 4th fingers pretty much in the same place throughout the examples in the key of G where it is possible. The first finger can be lifted from the standard G to create a G with a sustained 2nd. The 2nd means that it is the second note of the G major scale. Also then you can play the 3rd fret on the A string (2nd string from the top) to create a G sustained 4th.
Once again, here in the C chords the first finger can be moved around to add some extra notes.
On the D chords, this example is one of the easiest and most widely used examples of how to add melody to a chord.
One thing with these E minor chords that also relates to all other chords is that once you have learned the standard fingerings well, don't be afraid to change which finger covers which string. Sometimes it is good to play a chord differently depending on where you are coming from or headed to next to make your transitions as smooth as possible or to open up more possibilities for adding melodies.
You may not be aware of it, but all of the notes on all of these examples fall within the G major scale. If you know the G major scale (G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G) you can add any of these notes to any chord in this key and experiment. Some will obviously sound better over certain chords and some will sound disonate, or out of place but learning your way around the fret board will allow you to discover new possibilities. More to come later... For a free downloadable version of this and information on playing in other keys click here. |
