{"id":30627,"date":"2025-01-08T19:06:36","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T18:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lerengitaarspelen.nl\/?p=30627"},"modified":"2026-10-31T14:28:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T13:28:44","slug":"play-songs-with-chords-guitar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lerengitaarspelen.nl\/en\/play-songs-with-chords-guitar\/","title":{"rendered":"Accompanying Songs on Guitar: How to Play Songs With Chords"},"content":{"rendered":"

Short answer:<\/strong> Looking for guitar songs with chords to play along with? Besides the chord shapes, you need three things: the ability to read a chord chart above the lyrics, to change chords on the beat, and a simple strumming pattern. A capo lets you match the pitch to your voice. Start with a song that has three or four chords.<\/p>\n

How to place the individual chord shapes is covered in the guide to guitar chords for beginners<\/a>. You can find songs to start with in the guide to easy guitar songs<\/a>. On this page you read how to use those chords to accompany a song, with or without singing.<\/p>\n

What do you need to accompany a song?<\/h2>\n

To accompany a song you need three or four chords, a steady rhythm and a chord chart. Most beginner songs use only open chords. These are the most important ones, in tab notation from the low E string to the high e string (x = don’t strum, 0 = open string):<\/p>\n\n\n
Chord<\/th>Notation<\/th>Chord<\/th>Notation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
E<\/td>022100<\/td>Em<\/td>022000<\/td><\/tr>\n
A<\/td>x02220<\/td>Am<\/td>x02210<\/td><\/tr>\n
D<\/td>xx0232<\/td>C<\/td>x32010<\/td><\/tr>\n
G<\/td>320003<\/td>Fmaj7<\/td>xx3210<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n
<\/svg>
E
E major<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/svg>
Em
E minor<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u00d7<\/text><\/svg>
A
A major<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u00d7<\/text><\/svg>
Am
A minor<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u00d7<\/text>\u00d7<\/text><\/svg>
D
D major<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u00d7<\/text><\/svg>
C
C major<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/svg>
G
G major<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u00d7<\/text>\u00d7<\/text><\/svg>
Fmaj7
F major seventh<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Chords in songs tend to come in fixed groups. Once you know a group, you can play a lot of songs right away:<\/p>\n\n\n
Key<\/th>Chords that often appear together<\/th>Tip<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
G<\/td>G, C, D, Em<\/td>The easiest group to start with<\/td><\/tr>\n
C<\/td>C, F, G, Am<\/td>F is a barre chord; Fmaj7 is an easy substitute in many pop songs<\/td><\/tr>\n
D<\/td>D, G, A, Bm<\/td>Bm is a barre chord; practice D, G and A first<\/td><\/tr>\n
A<\/td>A, D, E, F#m<\/td>Widely used in rock and blues<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n
<\/svg>
F
F major<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u00d7<\/text><\/svg>
Bm
B minor<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/svg>
F#m
F# minor<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

A well-known example is Let It Be by The Beatles, which revolves largely around C, G, Am and F. You can find more songs by the band in Beatles songs on guitar<\/a>. Why these chords sound so good together is explained in which guitar chords go together<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Reading a chord chart above song lyrics<\/h2>\n

In a chord chart, the name of the chord is written above the syllable where you change. You keep playing that chord until a new chord appears above the lyrics. Here is an example with a line I wrote myself:<\/p>\n

G           C\nI bike home in the rain\nD         G\nand sing a song to myself<\/pre>\n
You start on G, change to C on the word “in”, to D at the start of the second line and back to G on “song”. This is how you read a chart like this:<\/p>\n