Three Chord Song Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (04:39) Three Chord Song Steve opens Lesson 3 with a performance of the song that you will be learning in this lesson. In this lesson, Steve teaches a basic arrangement of "This Land Is Your Land" written by Woody Guthrie. This song is Guthrie's response to the classic Irving Berlin tune. "God Bless America."

Primary Triads in a Major Key

Steve's arrangement of the song is comprised of only three chords. These three chords are the "primary triads" in the key of G major. The primary triads of any major or minor key are the I, IV, and V chords. Remember the hand trick that Steve demonstrated in previous lessons to determine the I, IV, and V chords in the key of G major. Respectively, these chords are G, C, and D(7). Often a dominant seventh chord is substituted for a regular major V chord. This creates a stronger resolution back to the tonic (I) chord.

Many songs in the rock, blues, and folk genres feature only three chords. Consequently, mastering the materials that Steve presents in this lesson will enable you to play a vast number of songs. For example, the most basic form of the 12 bar blues progression contains only three chords. In the rock genre, Nirvana's "All Apologies" only contains three chords: D, G, and A. These are the primary triads in the key of D major.

Learning the Melody

Remember to study the key features of a melody before you actually try to sing it. For example, what is the range? Does it span an entire octave or more? Where do large intervallic leaps occur? Is the melody predictable? Where do the phrases end and begin? What pattern do the phrases follow? Do the chords change in a predictable fashion along with the phrases?

It is also a good idea to learn the lyrics before singing the melody. This will cut down on the number of new things that your brain must process in order to sing the melody well.

Lyrics

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island,
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream water,
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway,
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me.

I roamed and I rambled and I followed my footsteps
O'er the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts,
While all around me a voice was sounding, saying

In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple
In the relief office, I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry I stood there asking,
--Is this land made for you and me?

As I went walking, I saw a sign there;
On the sign it said "NO TRESPASSING,"
But on the other side it didn't say nothing--
That side was made for you and me! Chapter 2: (05:31) Chords and Where to Play In the previous two lessons, Steve outlined a specific process that should be followed when learning to sing and play a new song. At first, only strum when the chords change. The chords change every two bars, so you'll actually be holding each chord for a total of eight beats. Then, strum in half notes. Next, strum on each beat in a steady quarter note rhythm. Finally, strum in eighth notes. This requires that you alternate your strumming direction continually. For an extra challenge, add an alternating bass line. Practice this entire process with a metronome.

Watch as Steve plays through the song while only strumming whole notes. Pause and rewind this scene as necessary to learn the lyrics and the melody. The next time through, just sing along with Steve. Then, sing by yourself without playing. After that, strum whole notes while Steve sings. Next, sing and play along with Steve. Finally, do all of this by yourself. You fill find that it is much more difficult to perform the song without a skilled guide to sing along with.
Chapter 3: (04:12) Different Ways to Strum Once you have mastered the song using the instructions outlined in the previous scene, your next step is to play the chordal accompaniment with the boom–chuck rhythm and an alternating bass line. At first, do not attempt to play the accompaniment in this manner while singing. Learn how to play the guitar part first. Then, add the vocal melody back in.

If the boom-chuck is unfamiliar to you, go back to Steve's Phase 1 lessons as well as the Phase 2 Bluegrass series. Also, visit the Bluegrass series to learn how to apply a walking bass line to the key of G major. Playing a walking bass line in conjunction with singing this melody isn't too difficult because the bass notes move in the same rhythm as the melody. However, this is not the case for many songs. If this is too much for you to tackle at this time, learn some other basic folk tunes and play them with the strumming rhythms above. After tackling a few more songs in this fashion, you should be better prepared for the walking bass line. Steve concludes this lesson with a performance of the song played with a walking bass line. Listen to him carefully and compare your version to his.

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