Country Music Guitar Chords You Need to Know

If you’re a fan of country music, then you know that the guitar is a key part of the sound. And if you want to play along, you need to know the chords! In this blog post, we’ll share some of the most essential country music guitar chords you need to know.

Open Chords

The first chords you should learn when you start playing country guitar are open chords. Open chords are chords that are played on the guitar without fretting any notes. These chords are typically played on the lower strings of the guitar and are great for beginners. They are easy to play and sound great when strummed.

A Major

A Major is one of the most common chords in country music. It’s a basic, open chord that can be played in a number of different ways. The following are some of the most common ways to play A Major.

A Major can be played as a simple triad by placing your index finger on the second fret of the third string, your middle finger on the second fret of the second string, and your ring finger on the second fret of the first string. You can also play A Major as a power chord by placing your index finger on the fifth fret of the sixth string and your middle finger on the fifth fret of the fifth string (or you can place your middle finger on the fourth fret of the fifth string and your ring finger on the fifth fret of the fourth string).

D Major

D major is a very popular key for country songs. It’s used in a lot of classic country tunes, as well as more modern hits. If you’re just starting out on guitar, learning some basic chords in D major will give you a good foundation for playing a lot of great country songs.

The D major chord is made up of the notes D, F#, and A. To play a D major chord, place your middle finger on the second fret of the third string, your index finger on the first fret of the second string, and your ring finger on the second fret of the first string. Strum all six strings together to play the chord.

E Major

E Major is one of the first chords you should learn on guitar. It’s a basic open chord that only uses three strings (the low E, the A, and the high E),
and it’s extremely versatile. You can use it for country, pop, rock, and even some metal songs.

To play an E Major chord, start by placing your index finger on the low E string. Then, place your ring finger on the A string. Finally, place your middle finger on the high E string. Strum all three strings at once, and you’ve got an E Major chord!

Barre Chords

Barre chords are one of the most essential guitar chords you need to know. They are chords that involve using your index finger to press down on multiple strings at once. Barre chords are a great way to make chord shapes more versatile. They can be moved up and down the fretboard to create different chords. Barre chords are also essential for playing country music guitar.

A Major

A Major is one of the most common barre chords you’ll encounter, especially in country music. The basic shape of the A Major chord is shown below. You’ll notice that it uses the index finger to barre across the 2nd fret of all six strings. The other fingers are used to form the rest of the chord shape.

E|-
B|-
G|-
D|-
A|-2-
E|-2-

To play an A Major chord, place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the E string and your other fingers on the 3rd frets of the B and G strings. Press down on all six strings and strum from the A string downwards.

D Major

D Major is one of the most common chords in country music. It’s a great chord for beginner guitarists to learn because it’s easy to play and you can use it in a lot of different songs.

To play a D Major chord, place your index finger on the second fret of the third string. Then, place your middle finger on the third fret of the second string. Finally, place your ring finger on the second fret of the first string. When you strum this chord, be sure to include all six strings.

E Major

E major is a barre chord shape that you can move up and down the guitar neck to play any major chord. To play an E major, place your index finger on the second fret of the low E string and your ring finger on the fourth fret of the A string. Then place your middle finger on the third fret of the D string, and your pinky finger on the fifth fret of the high E string.

Power Chords

Country music often uses a lot of power chords. Power chords are two-note chords that are mostly used in rock and metal music. They are called “power” chords because they create a lot of power and energy. Power chords are usually played on electric guitars with distortion.

A5

The A5 power chord is one of the most commonly used chords in country music. It’s a fundamental part of the genre’s sound, and it’s also one of the easiest chords to play on the guitar.

The A5 power chord is simply an A major chord with the fifth (D) note omitted. This gives the chord a “power” sound, which is why it’s so popular in country music. To play an A5 power chord, simply place your index finger on the second fret of the low E string, and your ring finger on the second fret of the high E string. Then, strum all six strings.

If you’re just starting out on guitar, you may find it easier to play an A5 power chord by omitting the low E string altogether. Simply place your index finger on the second fret of the high E string, and strum only the five highest strings. This version of the A5 power chord is often referred to as a “cowboy” or “open” chord.

D5

D5 is a power chord that you will see frequently in country music. It is made up of the notes D and A, and is played by placing your first finger on the second fret of the D string and your third finger on the third fret of the A string. Strum all six strings to play the chord.

E5

E5 is a power chord, meaning it consists of only the root note and the fifth. It is commonly used in rock and metal music. To play an E5 chord, you will need to use your first, second, and third fingers. Place your first finger on the second fret of the low E string, your second finger on the third fret of the A string, and your third finger on the third fret of the high E string.

Seventh Chords

If you’re just getting started with country guitar, you need to know some seventh chords. Seventh chords are often used in country music to add a bit of tension and resolution to a chord progression. In this lesson, we’ll take a look at some of the most common seventh chords you’ll encounter in country music.

A7

The A7 chord is one of the most popular chords in country music. It’s a key part of the country sound, and it’s used in tons of popular songs. If you’re just getting started with country guitar, this is a great chord to learn.

The A7 chord is made up of the notes A, C#, E, and G. To play this chord, you’ll need to use all four fingers. Place your first finger on the second fret of the low E string, your second finger on the second fret of the A string, your third finger on the second fret of the D string, and your fourth finger on the first fret of the G string. Then, strum all four strings.

If you find this chord difficult to play, you can try an easier version. Place your first finger on the second fret of the low E string and your second finger on the first fret of the A string. Then, strum only these two strings. You can also try playing only three strings by strumming from the low E string to the D string.

Once you’ve mastered this basic version of the A7 chord, you can start experimenting with different voicings. For example, you can move your third finger up to the third fret of the D string or your fourth finger up to the second fret of the high E string. You can also try different inversions by playing different combinations of strings.

country music guitar chords

D7

The D7 guitar chord is a really important chord to know if you want to play country music. It’s often used as a turnaround chord, and it has a really nice, twangy sound.

To play a D7 chord, you’ll need to use the following fingers on your left hand:

– Index finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string
– Middle finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string
– Ring finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string
– Pinkie finger on the 3rd fret of the 1st string

For the right hand, you can either strum all four strings, or just pluck the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings.

E7

E7 is a major seventh chord built by adding a major seventh to a dominant seventh chord. The E7 guitar chord can be written as 3x1234, 3x1233 or x131234. In the video below, you will learn how to play the E7 guitar chord in three different ways.

E7 is a commonly used chord in country music and can be found in songs like “Crazy” by Patsy Cline, “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” by Hank Williams, and “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash.

Ninth Chords

You might have heard of ninth chords before, but maybe you’re not sure what they are or how to use them. Ninth chords are simply chords that contain a ninth. They can be major, minor, dominant, or diminished. Ninth chords are usually played over blues progressions, but they can be used in other styles of music as well. Let’s take a look at some ninth chords that you need to know.

A9

The A9 chord is a great chord to know for country music. It’s a simple shape to play on the guitar, and it sounds great when strummed either acoustically or with an electric guitar.

The A9 chord is made up of the root note (A), the third (C#), the fifth (E), and the ninth (G). To play this chord, simply place your finger on the second fret of the low E string, the third fret of the A string, the second fret of the D string, and the first fret of the G string. Then strum all six strings simultaneously.

If you find that this shape is too difficult to play, you can simply omit the high E string. This will give you an A5 chord, which is still a great sounding chord for country music.

D9

A D9 chord is composed of the notes D, F#, A, and C. To play a D9 chord, use the root, 3rd, 5th, and b7th fret of the low E string. You can also play a D9 chord by using the root, 3rd, 5th, and b7th fret of the A string.

E9

E9 is a dominant ninth chord, meaning it is built on the fifth scale degree of the major scale. In the key of E, that would be a B. The 9 in the name refers to the added ninth interval; in this case, a D#. This gives the chord a slightly bluesy sound.

E9 can be played as both a dominant seventh and a ninth chord. When played as a dominant seventh, it is usually written as E7(#9). When played as a ninth chord, it is usually written as E9.

The most common way to play E9 is with the root on the low E string, the third on the A string, the fifth on the D string, the seventh on the G string, and the ninth on the B string. This can be played as either a barre chord or an open chord.

E9 can also be played with different voicings. One common voicing is to play the root on the fifth fret of the low E string, the third on the fourth fret of the A string, the fifth on the second fret of the D string, and the ninth on t