If you've been trying to master the guitar for an extended period of time, then you have realized a key fact. There are many types of chords - simple ones, difficult ones, and ridiculously difficult ones. Maybe you don't have a whole lot of time to practice memorizing different chord shapes and jumping in and out of them from other positions. You might be surprised to find what amazing musical feats you can accomplish with just three simple guitar chords.



Try Country Music:

There is a saying that goes "country music is three chords and the truth." This is almost a true statement. Many great country songs only have simple guitar chords in them, and they are in easy to play keys, like D, G, C, and A. For the ultimate in simplicity try Billy Ray Cyrus's Achy Breaky Heart - it only has two chords in it!

Try a Capo:

If you struggle with bar chords, there is a simple solution - try a capo. Often times, you can find versions of a song online that has been altered with a capo to make the chord changes easier. You don't even need to learn the rules of transposition - you can rely on the work of others who have paved the way before you and turned difficult chords in to those classic keys with the simple addition of a capo.

Try Learning a Few Bar Chords:

If you are really brave, there is an alternative to the capo that is relatively simple. With bar chords, you can take simple chord shapes, and move them up the neck of the guitar. This results in a new chord each time you move up one fret. For example, E is one of the simple guitar chords that most people have mastered. If you play the E chord shape using your pinky, ring, and middle fingers, your index finger become free to play the role of the capo. Move up just one fret, and you'll suddenly have an F# chord, up another, and you've got a G, and so on. Learn just one bar chord and you have opened yourself to 12 other simple guitar chords that you can play.

Try Writing Your Own Song:

Do you feel limited because you only know half a dozen guitar chords? Why not try taking what you already know and applying like a true craftsman? Take a chord pattern that you already know, say G, C, and D, and put your creativity to the test. Form simple lyrics that are within your comfortable singing range, and back it up with that tested and true chord pattern. This is basically how songwriters start out - if at first you don't succeed, try again!

You'll be able to go a long way in your guitar playing with just a few simple chords. These chords won't make you a master of genres like jazz and blues, which employ complex, challenging chords, but you can certainly include dozens of popular rock and country songs that everyone knows in your repertoire.