In this lesson we’re going to put everything you’ve learned so far about your strumming and your fretting hands together to play through a classic song. Applying everything you’ve learned to real music is going to be awesome! If you’re a newer guitar player putting all these things together can be pretty challenging, so don't hesitate to review past lessons in this series as needed.
All of the chords we’ve learned so far are in the key of G major. That’s not super important for you to know right now. I just want to expose you to that fact. We’re going to put these chords together into a progression to play through a song. That progression is G, D, A minor 7, and C. You might have a little trouble changing through these chords smoothly, but that’s fine. That’s normal at first. Practice and remember all the tips I’ve given you about changing chords smoothly and making your chords clean.
We’re going to keep the strumming really simple for now so you can work on making your chord changes smooth. Simply strum each chord twice. So start with your G and just strum it twice. You can use all downstrokes if you like. Switch to a D and strum that chord twice. Make sure not to play the E or the A strings here. Switch to an A minor 7, and leave the low E string out. Strum that chord twice. Finally, move to a C major and strum that twice.
Try to visualize the next chord before you need to go to it. If you’re on your G, by the time you’re hitting the second strum you need to be thinking about that D chord so you can move right to it.
If your chords are sounding buzzy, make sure you are coming right down on your fingertips and that your fingers are right behind the frets. Once you start learning how to switch between chords like this, switching between newer chords and the chords you already know will become easier. Be encouraged, it does get easier with time.