10 Songs with D, A & G - Introduction

This is the next step after learning a few songs from the 'Ten songs with three chords; E, A and D' series. Here we'll learn how to play the G major chord, and how to change between A, D and G so you can play any of the 10 songs in this series. You should be able to play at least three songs from level 2 (with E, A and D) before starting this level!

G major Chord

This is the standard way of playing a G chord using just fingers 1, 2 and 3.

There are a few other ways to play a G chord. The one pictured below is the most common and most useful, it doesn't have another name as it has all the same notes as a normal G- but it is usually nicknamed a 'Big G'. As it is also used in Wonderwall by Oasis, I usually call it an Oasis or 'Noel Gallagher G'.

G to D change

You can just lift your fingers off and go for a standard G to a D chord. However, many players and songs use the 'Big G' here because it sounds nicer and the change is easier. THIS is the reason the only new chord at this stage is a G- so you can master this change! If you do, everything afterwards will be easier. If you don't you'll likely have to keep revisiting this over and over. Preserver now- you'll need it to do some of the best songs at this stage including Free Fallin by Tom Petty/ John Mayerand Highway To Hell by AC/DC!

Strumming for Level 3

The strumming pattern for level 3 shows you how to miss up strums to make 8ths down and up strumming sound more pro. These strumming pattern variations can be used in the songs Mr Tambourine Man, Girlfriend in a coma, If you Wanna and Songbird from the beginners course. Check out the lesson here!

Or check out any of the songs you can play with just these three easy chords!