You don't have to take guitar lessons very long before you realize that many of the hit songs you've heard on the radio over the years, are actually composed with only a handful of chords.
That revelation tends to shock many new guitar students, previously under the impression that most popular music is complicated and musically out of reach.
The fact is that the three chord song form is one of the most common in modern music. From blues to rock to country to pop, three chord songs are everywhere.
For a beginning guitarist this is great news. It means that the newbie only has to learn a few basic open chords, and will have everything they need to play a ton of popular songs....
Today we will make it even easier by learning the "easiest guitar song" in the world!
I don't make that statement based on any official claim or scientific research. It's solely based on the fact that in my 30 years as a gigging guitar player I have played a million three chord songs, a half a million two chord songs - but rarely a one chord song!
But here it is, the song is called "Coconut", and was made popular in 1971 by Harry Nilsson. The most famous line in the song is "you put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up...". This song has been re-recorded by several artists so chances are you've heard at least one of the versions.
There is one chord in this song, C7. That's it!
Here's the way it can be played:
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------1------------1----------------1-------------1-------
G----------------3-------------3---------------3-------------3---
D----------------2-------------2---------------2-------------2---
A-------3-------------------------------3--------------------------
E---------------------3-------------------------------3------------
The best way to play this is to hold your hand in a C7 chord in the open position.
Then play the root note, C (3rd fret of the 5th string) followed by the notes of the C7 chord as indicated.
Next, using your 3rd finger, but still keeping the C7 chord positioning, play the G note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string, followed by the notes of the C7 chord as indicated.
This is a common "alternating bass" pattern that you can use for many songs.
The whole song is played simply by holding the C7 chord position and alternating the 3rd finger between the bass notes on the 3rd fret of the 5th string and the 3rd fret of the 6th string. Easy!
Actually, the hardest part of playing this song is also the easiest because holding your hand in the same position for four and a half minutes can get tiring after a while.
So now, even if you only know one chord on the guitar (C7), you can play a complete song from beginning to end!
Enjoy!
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