Guitar Chords For Country Songs

by Mike Hayes
If you have just started playing guitar you probably want to know what are the guitar chords for country songs, how many chords should I learn, what happens if the chord shapes are difficult to play.

Acoustic guitars are great to take with you anywhere and are ideally suited to playing country songs. The guitar chords you use for country songs will depend on whether it's a two chord or three chord song.

The best guitar-friendly keys for your country songs are: G, D, A and E.

Two chord songs.

Guitar chords for country songs in keys G, D, A, and E.

Key of G = G and D7

Key of D = D and A7

Key of A = A and E7

Key of E = E and B7

Here is a short list of some country tunes using two chords.

Jambalaya

Tulsa Time

Achey Breaky Heart

Deep In The Heart Of Texas

Country artists don't sing songs, they tell stories.

Country songs are about real life--memories and reactions to real things that happen to everyone. It's about the story the singer is telling it has nothing to do with how many chords a song has, remember that many successful song have only three chords.

Country music evolved out of the tradition of working cowboys singing cowhand ballads such as 'Texas Cowboy' around the campfire or on the range and was later popularized in Hollywood by singers such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. However, the image of the cowboy was enshrined in country music by Hank Williams.

Three chord songs.

Guitar chords for country songs in keys G, D, A, and E.

Key of G = G, C and D7

Key of D = D, G and A7

Key of A = A, D and E7

Key of E = E, A and B7

Here is a list of some country tunes using three chords.

Am I That Easy To Forget?

Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain

Bonapart's Retreat

Cold Cold Heart

Coward Of The County

Crazy Arms

Folsom Prison Blues

Green, Green Grass Of Home

I Fall To Pieces

I Walk The Line

Jealous Heart

King Of The Road

Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

Okie From Muskogee

Please Release Me

Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms

Six Days On The Road

The Gambler

Truck Drivin' Man

Wabash Cannonball

When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again

You Are My Sunshine

And hundreds more ...

Songs like Your Cheatin' Heart, people still like that, it doesn't matter what year you sing it in or where you came from.

If you find that a song is in the wrong key or the chord shapes are difficult to play use a capo to make things easy.

Here's what happens when you put a capo on the first fret.

G chord now becomes G#/Ab

C chord now becomes C#/Db

D7 chord now becomes D#7/Eb7 ------------------------

D chord now becomes D#/Eb

G chord now becomes G#/Ab

A7 chord now becomes A#7/Bb7 ------------------------

A chord now becomes A#/Bb

D chord now becomes D#/Eb

E7 chord now becomes E#7/F7 ------------------------

E chord now becomes F

A chord now becomes A#/Bb

B7 chord now becomes C7

When you practice your guitar chords for country songs listen carefully and you will notice how so many country songs are strikingly similar.Many great country songs just use G, C, D or G, D, A or some combination thereof.