Playing Songs With Chords From Guitar Tab Websites
So you’ve learnt to play the main open string chords on the guitar A, D, E, G, C, F, A minor, E minor and D minor. With these chords you can play thousands of songs. On the internet there are many guitar tab sites showing you the chords for almost any song you can think of. The chord progressions on these tab sites are user submitted so may not always be 100% accurate however they’re usually pretty close.
The challenge for a beginner guitarist is how to interpret these chords and play them in a way that resembles the song. Here we will look at some popular songs and how to play their chord progressions.
Usually a song on a tab site will have the chords written above each line of lyrics. The words will not necessarily line up correctly with the chord changes so it can take a bit of detective work to figure out when to change chords. For most songs the chords change at the start of the bar or sometimes in the middle. This means the 1st and the 3rd beat of the bar in a typical 4 beat per bar (4/4) rock/pop song.
For an example of this will analyse the following songs.
- Let It Be by The Beatles
- Scar by Missy Higgins
- Save Tonight by Eagle Eye Cherry
The 3 songs use the same 4 chord progression of C G Am and F. This particular 4 chord progression is extremely common and used in 100s of songs.
Let It Be – The Beatles
The verses and chorus of this song are played for 2 beats each. The simplest way to start strumming is to strum once per beat. So for Let It Be you will strum 2 times each for C G Am and F etc. Once you’re comfortable with your basic strumming try and sing along working out what words line up with the chord changes. Don’t worry if you don’t sound as good as Paul McCartney! Once you’re OK doing this you can now make your strumming pattern a bit fancier. Try the following rhythm.
C G Am F
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
C G F C
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness, She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, Let it be
Am G F C
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
C G F C
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Scar – Missy Higgins
This song by Aussie singer Missy Higgins uses the same chords as Let It Be but the phrasing of the words and the strumming rhythm is quite different. In the verses for Scar the chords of C G Am and F change also change every 2 beats. This means that sticking to the idea of strumming once per beat each chord will now also get 2 strums.
This song also has a pre-chorus using the chords of Dm F and G. Here the Dm chord is played for 4 beats and the F and G for 2 beats each.
The chorus uses the same 4 chords as the verse but each now played once per bar for 4 beats each.
So with this information go through the basic one beat strum process as with Let It Be to first get comfortable with the chord changes. Then sing along with your basic strumming working out where the words line up with the chord changes. Once this is sorted try a more interesting rhythm such as the one below.
C G Am F
He left a card, a bar of soap and a scrubbing brush next to a note
That said “use these down to your bones”
And before I knew I had shiny skin and it felt easy being clean like him
I thought “this one knows better than I do”
Dm F G
A triangle trying to squeeze through a circle
He tried to cut me so I’d fit
C G Am F
And doesn’t that sound familiar? Doesn’t that hit too close to home?
Doesn’t that make you shiver; the way things could’ve gone?
And doesn’t it feel peculiar when everyone wants a little more?
And so that I do remember to never go that far,
Could you leave me with a scar?
Save Tonight – Eagle Eye Cherry
This song uses the same main 4 chords as the previous 2 examples but it starts on Am instead of C. Here again its 2 beats per chord however it is much faster than Let It Be or Scar so you might want to just strum each chord once as you work out where to place the lyrics with the chord changes. Once you’ve got this working I’d recommend using the strumming pattern below keeping in mind that it is played pretty fast!
Am F C G
Go on and close the curtains
‘Cause all we need is candlelight
You and me and the bottle of wine
And hold you tonight… oh eee
Well we know I’m going away
And how I wish I wish it weren’t so
So take this wine and drink with me
Let’s delay our misery…
Save tonight
Fight the break of dawn
Come tomorrow
Tomorrow I’ll be gone
So now some of the mystery of how to interpret the chords of songs from guitar tab websites have been solved for you. Always start with simple once per beat strums to work out how fast to change the chords and then add the lyrics/singing on top. Some vocal phrasing will be easier to work out than others but if your strumming is simple and consistent it shouldn’t be too difficult. Only try more complicated strumming once you’ve figured out how the words line up with the chord changes.
All lyrics and chords on this website may only be used for educational purposes, private study, scholarship or research