Guitar Friendly » Guitar Chords

Hey, Soul Sister Chords by Train

Brett — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:23:38 +0000

This week we are going to look at the chords and lyrics for Train’s Hey, Soul Sister from their “Save Me, San Francisco” album. It’s likely that you’ve heard this song on the radio, as it’s been at the top of the charts for quite awhile now. It uses the most basic guitar chords and is in a 4/4 time signature.

The most challenging part about this song will probably be the rhythm. While we don’t have time to go into the strumming pattern of the song, one thing that can help is to simply listen through the song before trying to play it. Listen to what’s happening with the rhythm and listen to the chord changes. Try to internalize the song in your mind and hear it. If you can hear it in your mind, you will most likely be able to play it.

If you want more songs to learn and play, check out the chords and lyrics for some other beginner guitar songs. Got any recommendations for the chords of songs you would like to see? Post them below!

Guitar Chords Used in the Song

Learn to play “Hey, Soul Sister” with online video lessons

Capo 4 (what’s a capo?)

C G Am F Heeey, heeeey, heeeey!

- C Your lipstick stains G Am F On the front lobe of my left side brains. - C I knew I wouldn't forget you, - G Am F G And so I went and let you blow my mind - C Your sweet moonbeam, G Am F The smell of you in every single dream I dream, - C I knew when we collided, - G You're the one I have decided - Am F G Who's one of my kind

F Hey soul sister, G C G F Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo, - G C G The way you move ain't fair you know F Hey soul sister, - G C G F G I don't want to miss a single thing you do... - C Tonight - G Am F Heeey, Heeeeey heeeey!

C Just in time, G Am F I'm so glad you have a one track mind like me - C You gave my life direction, - G Am F G A game show love connection, we can't deny - C I'm so obsessed, G Am F My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest - C G I believe in you, "Like a Virgin," you're Madonna, - Am F G And I'm always gonna want to blow your mind

- C The way you can cut a rug, G Am Watching you's the only drug I need - (Am cont'd) You're so gangsta, I'm so thug, - F/A You're the only one I'm dreaming of - C/G G You see, I can be myself now finally, - Am In fact there's nothing I can't be - G F G I want the world to see you'll be with me

F Hey soul sister, G C G F Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo, - G C G The way you move ain't fair you know F Hey soul sister, - G C G F G I don't want to miss a single thing you do tonight F Hey soul sister, - G C G F G I don't want to miss a single thing you do...

- C Tonight - G Am F G Heeey, Heeeeey heeeey! - C Tonight - G Am F G Heeey, Heeeeey heeeey! - C Tonight

Learn to play “Hey, Soul Sister” with online video lessons

The Only Exception Chords by Paramore

Brett — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:11:25 +0000

As a guitar player, the obvious yet ultimate goal is to be able to play songs. However, if you are first starting out it can be hard to find easy guitars songs to play that aren’t too hard. The good thing is that some of the best songs ever written are the most simple ones.

Here are the chords and lyrics for Paramore’s The Only Exception from their “Brand New Eyes” album. It uses the most basic guitar chords and has a swung 6/8 rhythm. If you are new to strumming, or unfamiliar with 6/8 strumming patterns, you might want to check out our guitar lesson on 6/8 strumming patterns.

Guitar Chords Used in the Song

Learn to play “The Only Exception” with online video lessons

Capo 4 (what’s a capo?)

G Dm Cma7 When I was younger I saw my daddy cry and curse at the wind - G Dm Cmaj7 He broke his own heart and I watched as he tried to reassemble it - G Dm Cma7 And my momma swore that she would never let herself forget - G Dm Cmaj7 And that was the day that I promised I'd never sing of love if it does not exist
- G But darling you are the only exception, Dm Cmaj7 you are the only exception, G you are the only exception, Dm Cmaj7 you are the only exception
G Dm Cmaj7 Maybe I know somewhere deep in my soul that love never lasts - G Dm Cmaj7 And we've got to find other ways to make it alone but keep a straight face - G Dm C And I've always lived like this keeping a comfortable distance - G Dm Cmaj7 And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness - Cause none of it was worth the risk
G You are the only exception, Dm Cmaj7 you are the only exception, G you are the only exception, Dm Cmaj7 you are the only exception

Am G D Am G D

Am G D I've got a tight grip on reality, but I can't let go of what's in front of me here - Am I know your leaving in the morning when you wake up - G D Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream C Whoa, oh, oh
G You are the only exception, Dm Cmaj7 you are the only exception, G you are the only exception, Dm Cmaj7 you are the only exception
G You are the only exception, Dm Cmaj7 you are the only exception, G you are the only exception, Dm Cmaj7 you are the only exception
- F C G And I'm on my way to believing, - F C G Oh and I'm on my way to believing

Learn to play “The Only Exception” with online video lessons

How to Transpose or Change the Key of a Chord Chart

Brett — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:53:46 +0000

What do you do if you find a chord chart of your favorite song, but it’s not in the right key?

The term transpose simply refers to changing the key of a song. You can transpose a piece to either a lower pitch or a higher pitch. So for example, you find a chord chart is in the key of A but you want to play it in the key of G. Surprisingly, this isn’t very difficult to do if you know a small bit of the theory behind it.

Let’s look at this.

Scales and Roman Numerals

Each song is generally based upon a scale. Most popular songs that you play on the guitar are based on the major scale. There are seven notes in a scale. So in the key of C major, you have the notes: C D E F G A B.

The chords of that song are then built off of each note of the scale, which would give you seven chords for that key. However, each of these chords will have a different sound. Based upon a major scale, some chords will be major, others minor, and one chord will be diminished.

We don’t have time to look into how each of these chords are built, but a major scale has this structure, which can be represented by roman numerals:

I ii iii IV V vi vii^o

The uppercase roman numerals represent major chords. The lowercase roman numerals represent minor chords. The lowercase roman numeral with the superscript circle represents a diminished chord.

So let’s take a C major scale and use the above roman numerals. In a C major scale, you will have the following chords:

C Dm Em F G Am Bdim

You can do this with any key.

So what’s this have to do with transposing?

When we identify the chords of a key by roman numerals, it makes it easier to transpose to another key. Here’s how this works. Again, let’s say we are in C major, and we have a chord progression like this:

C F Am G

Let’s transpose this up to D major. First, we must identify each chord with a roman numeral.

C F Am G I IV vi V

We want to take the progression that is in the key of C major (C – F – Am – G) and move that up to D major. Since we know the progression is I – IV – vi – V progression, all we have to do is figure out what that progression is in D major.

So let’s identify each chord in the key of D major with a roman numeral.

D Em F#m G A Bm C#dim
I ii iii IV V vi vii^o

As we can see, the “I” chord is “D”, the “IV” chord is “G”, the “vi” chord is “Bm”, and the “V” chord is “A.” So our transposed chord progression in the key of D major is D – G – Bm – A.

Key Change Chart

As you become more familiar with the chords in each key, the more transposing will become second nature. However, I’ve put together a chart that will help you transpose into any key using the method shown above.
Key | I ii iii IV V vi vii^o C major | C Dm Em F G Am Bdim D major | D Em F#m G A Bm C#dim E major | E F#m G#m A B C#m D#dim F major | F Gm Am Bb C Dm Edim G major | G Am Bm C D Em F#dim A major | A Bm C#m D E F#m G#dim B major | B C#m D#m E F# G#m A#dim
Do you have any tips or shortcuts for transposing a key?

Major Triad Positions: One Way to Learn the Guitar Fretboard

Brett — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:20:40 +0000

Are you up for a challenge?

In a recent previous post, “Guitar Lessons: Scales & Learning the Guitar Fretboard,” I mentioned a few things you can put into practice to master the guitar fretboard. One of these suggestions was to learn your triads over the fretboard. Triads can help “connect the dots” for how individual notes across the fretboard interact and relate to one other.

Just a forewarning, this discussion needs some understanding of how guitar scales work. This might make more sense to more intermediate players. If you are just beginning, you will want to check out guitar scales explained.

What are triads?

A triad is a group of three notes played simultaneously. Triads are made up of one note with a major third and a perfect fifth above it. In plain speak, a triad is just a three note chord. There are different types of triads: major, minor, augmented, and diminished.

For now, we just want to talk about and focus on major triads. If we understand major triads, we can understand the other ones better.

Major Triad Positions

There are different positions for triads: root, 1st inversion, and 2nd inversion. Say we have a C major triad (C – E – G). Root position triads have the lowest note in the triad as the tonic or the first note. In this example, that would be C. In 1st inversion triads, the lowest note is the third (E). In 2nd inversion triads, the lowest note is the fifth (G).

Common Root Position Major Triads
Cmaj Dmaj Emaj Fmaj Gmaj Gmaj Amaj Bmaj Cmaj ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ ----- ----- ----- ----- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7--- ----- ----- ----- ----- --2-- --4-- --6-- --7-- --9--- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --3-- --5-- --7-- --8-- --10-- --2-- --4-- --6-- --7-- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ --3-- --5-- --7-- --8--

Common 1st Inversion Major Triads
Cmaj Dmaj Emaj Fmaj Gmaj Gmaj Amaj Bmaj Cmaj Dmaj Emaj ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- --1-- --3-- --5-- --6-- --8-- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7-- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7-- --9-- --2-- --4-- --6-- --7-- --9-- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7-- --9-- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- --2-- --4-- --6-- --7-- --9-- --11- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Common 2nd Inversion Major Triads
Cmaj Dmaj Emaj Fmaj Gmaj Gmaj Amaj Bmaj Cmaj Dmaj Emaj --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7-- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- --1-- --3-- --5-- --6-- --8-- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7-- --9-- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7-- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7-- --9-- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- --0-- --2-- --4-- --5-- --7-- --9-- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

This is just a start of some of the most common major triad positions. You can arrange the notes in a triad to be played in a variety of different ways all across the guitar fretboard.

How do triads help me learn the guitar fretboard?

If you’re goal is to learn the guitar fretboard, it’s best to learn these triad positions in conjunction with your guitar scales. So when you’re learning a G major scale up and down the neck, learning the triad positions found in a G major scale (e.g. Cmaj & Dmaj) will allow you to see how the individual notes within the scale interact and relate with one another.

Triads are also very helpful for soloing. When you improvise a guitar solo, you’re playing over a chord progression. Say that in the chord progression there is a C major chord. If you’re soloing, you can identify all the different triad positions for a C major chord and use those as a kind of “launch pad” for your solo.

Further Learning

Craig Basset’s Guitar Scale Mastery System does a great job of teaching the guitar fretboard and making sense of how all of the different notes on the fretboard fit together.

If you have any questions about any of this, be sure to post a comment!

Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners: Round Two

Brett — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:49:49 +0000

This is a continuation of last week’s post of 10 easy guitar songs for beginners. Check those out if you haven’t already. Chords, lyrics, and videos of each songs are included so you can play them!

The best thing a beginning guitar player can do is to apply all the new chords they are learning to playing an actual song. After all, isn’t that why you’re learning how to play guitar in the first place?

So again, here’s my picks of some easy guitar songs for beginners that you should be able to pick up right when you are first beginning guitar (or even if you’ve been playing awhile! These are good songs still!). There’s a mix of some new pop songs and older classics on this list.

Click on the song title to view chords, lyrics, and a video.

Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners

1.) House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
2.) I’m Yours by Jason Mraz
3.) Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne
4.) I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash
5.) Viva La Vida by Coldplay

What would you add to this list?

10 Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners with Guitar Chords

Brett — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 23:41:05 +0000

When you’re first learning how to play the guitar, the best thing you can do is practice learning a new song. However, it can be hard to find easy guitar songs for beginners when you’re first starting because you don’t know which songs are easy to learn on guitar and which ones aren’t.

Here’s my collection of some easy guitar songs for beginners that you can pick up right away when you are learning how to play the guitar. There’s a mix of some new pop songs and older classics in this list.

I’ve also written up the chords and lyrics. Click on a song to see the video, chords, and lyrics.

Top 5 Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners

1.) Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver
2.) Free Falling by Tom Petty
3.) Yellow by Coldplay
4.) Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson
5.) Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynard

More Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners

6.) Clocks by Coldplay
7.) Teardrops On My Guitar by Taylor Swift
8.) Lost by Coldplay
9.) Realize by Colbie Caillat
10.) You’re Beautiful by James Blunt

When you get through these, be sure to check out five more easy guitar songs for beginners!

What songs are you learning how to play? What easy guitar songs for beginners would you add to this list?

How To Use a Guitar Capo

Brett — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:27:58 +0000

Guitar capos are a beautiful thing. Not only are guitar capos practical, but by using a guitar capo, you’re given a whole new palette of options in the realm of creativity. You can even get a certain characteristic of sound in the songs you play. Every guitarist should keep a capo in their guitar case.

What Is a Capo?

A capo is a small tool that “clamps” down all the strings on your guitar. In a certain sense, it bars all the strings on a particular fret. This allows a guitarist to transpose keys. The capo shown on the left is a Kyser Capo, which is a pretty popular style of capo.

How Does a Capo Work?

As I said, a capo allows a guitarist to transpose the key they are playing in. For example, if you were playing a song in the key of E major, but you wanted to play the song in G major, you could put the capo on the 3rd fret and continue to play the song in an E major position, but the song would sound like it was in the key of G major. This is useful if you are accompanying a singer (or you are singing), and need the key raised because it is more suitable for the singer’s range.

It’s very helpful to be able to understand how scales work when using a guitar capo. For example, if you are playing a D major position, but want it to sound like it was in the key of G major, you need to know how many half steps you have to go up in order to be sounding in the key of G major. There are five half steps from D to G, so we would need to put our capo on the 5th fret.

Why Bother With a Capo?

You might be wondering, “If you are playing in the key of E major, but want it to sound in the key of G major, why not just scratch the capo and play it in G major?!”

Well first off, those are two very easy keys to play in on guitar. But let’s say we wanted to play in the key of F# major. We could do that by playing all barre chords, but who wants to really go through that hassle? Instead, we could put our capo on the 2nd fret, play the song in an E major position, and voila! We are playing in F# major.

Secondly, you’ll notice that with the use of a capo you can get a certain characteristic of sound. Without worrying about keys or anything like that, just try putting the capo on, say the 7th fret, and playing one of your favorite songs. You’ll notice that when the capo is that high up on the neck the characteristic of the sound is very bright. This is useful if you are playing with another guitarist. Instead of both playing in the same position, one of the guitarists can capo up higher on the neck to get a brighter characteristic of sound. This ends up really creating a fuller sound when the two guitarists are playing together!

I Heard Using a Capo Is For Pansies…

I’ve had some people tell me that using a capo is for “cheaters,” and they kind of say in such a way that I’m not a real guitarist if I’m not using barre chords instead of a capo. As you can see, using a capo is not a way to shortcut, but to open up the creativity in your guitar playing up to a whole new palette of color.

Further Reading

I purposely avoided getting into the theory behind using a capo because we’ve recently talked about that in previous posts. If you have a general understanding of the foundations behind a scale and how major scales work, then you’ll be pretty well off!

Minor Guitar Barre Chord Charts

Brett — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:35:19 +0000

Last week, I added some major barre chords to our ever growing list of guitar chords. This week, it’s time to add some minor barre chords. These minor barre chords are based on the same common position that can moved up and down the fretboard. Again, these barre chords bar all of the strings.

On these barre chord chart diagrams, you’ll notice that there is a little marking to the left of the diagram that has a number and “fr.” like 3fr. and 5fr. These markings indicate what fret you play the barre chord position on. So if the markings say, 3fr., you’d play the barre chord on the 3rd fret.

Again, you can view the whole list of guitar chords here!

Minor Guitar Barre Chords

F minor

G# minor

B minor

D minor

F# minor

A minor

C minor

G minor

Bb minor

C# minor

Major Guitar Barre Chord Charts Added!

Brett — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:39:55 +0000

Our list of guitar chords has been updated with the most common major barre chords! These barre chords bar all of the strings (except the first type of F major chord).

If you are just learning your barre chords for guitar, be patient! It may come quick for some, but more than often, it requires time to build up the adequate amount of strength in your fingers and wrist to be able to play a clean barre chord. I won’t lie to you. Barre chords can be hard! So give it time.

You can view the whole list of guitar chords here!

Major Guitar Barre Chords

F major

G major

Bb major

D major

F major

Ab major

C major

F# major

A major

C# major

How to Read Guitar Chord Symbols

Brett — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:55:02 +0000

Guitar chords, or any chords for that matter, can be expressed in a variety of different ways. Sometimes this means guitar chords might include weird symbols or numbers.

I want you to be able to identify the different ways guitar chords can be written, even if you don’t quite have a full grasp of what the chord might be representing. For that reason, I’m not going to go too deep into the theory behind these ways of writing guitar chords or show you how to play these chords. To learn how to play guitar chords, visit our growing list of guitar chords with chord chart diagrams here.

1. Major guitar chords

Often major guitar chords are just represented by a capital letter. For example: G, D, C. Sometimes major chords might have an added “maj” attached to the letter like: Gmaj, Dmaj, Cmaj. Those can all be understood as major guitar chords.

2. Minor guitar chords

Minor guitar chords will often be represented by a capital letter followed by a lowercase “m” or “min.” For example: Em, Amin, C#m. Sometimes a minor chord will just be represented with a lowercase letter like: e, a, or c#. This is uncommon though in pop music.

3. Chord Inversions

Examples: G/B, C/G, D/F#

The above examples are ways to express a chord inversion. The first letter before the slash is the type of chord. The letter after the slash is a note taken from the chord that will be put in the bass. G/B reads: a G major chord with a B note in the bass. The notes in a G major chord are G, B, & D. In other words, the lowest note of the G major chord will be the B note of the G major chord.

4. Seventh (7th) chords

Seventh (7th) chords are represented by the number ‘7.’ Examples of seventh chords are: G7, Gmaj7, Em7, C#m7.

You might be wondering, “What’s the difference between a G7 and a Gmaj7 chord? Aren’t they both major chords?”

There is a difference. A G7 chord is a dominant seventh chord, while a Gmaj7 is a non-dominant seventh chord.

5. Diminished chords

Diminished chords are represented often with a little circle or a degree symbol superscripted next to the letter name of the chord. The letters “dim” will also commonly follow too. Examples are: B°, F#dim, C#°.

6. Augmented chords

Augmented chords will either be represented by plus (+) sign or the letters “aug.” Examples of augmented chords are: E+, Daug, G+.

7. Altered chords

Altered chords are chords with extra markup in them like b5, add9, #5. These chords require a bit of music theory to fully understand. Again, we won’t go into this here. Examples of altered chords are: Cadd9, Gmin7b5, D9.

In the examples above, the number represents a note. In the case of Gmin7b5, the 5th note of a G minor chord is a D. The flat symbol or ‘b’ preceding the number 5 indicates that the 5th note should be lowered one half step or “flatted.” So a Gmin7b5 chord would be understood as a G minor chord with an added seventh and with a flat fifth.

Let me know if you have any questions about this. Let’s plan on diving into the theory behind all of this soon!

Guitar Friendly » Guitar Chords

Hey, Soul Sister Chords by Train

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The Only Exception Chords by Paramore

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How to Transpose or Change the Key of a Chord Chart

Scales and Roman Numerals

So what’s this have to do with transposing?

Key Change Chart

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Major Triad Positions: One Way to Learn the Guitar Fretboard

What are triads?

Major Triad Positions

How do triads help me learn the guitar fretboard?

Further Learning

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Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners: Round Two

Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners

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