Basic Country Rhythm Guitar with G, C & D

Welcome to the first lesson in this Country Guitar Bootcamp! We are diving into the core elements that define the sound of country music with rhythm guitar; focusing on three essential chords: G, C, and D. These chords are the backbone of countless country songs, and understanding how to play and then embellish them in many ways is key to developing your country guitar skills.

Chord Progression

We’ll be working with the G, C, and D chords, which correspond to the 1, 4, and 5 chords in the Nashville Number System. Many country songs are 3 chord songs and their harmony tends to be simple but that makes the sound resonate with so many of us!

This progression is typical in country music, so once you get comfortable with it, you'll start to recognise the sound in many of your favourite songs.

Rhythm and Strumming Patterns

We can start with simple downstrokes on each beat to lock in the rhythm. However, to really capture that authentic country feel, we’ll introduce some more interesting strumming pattern elements that add more flavour:

Boom-Chika Technique

This technique captures the iconic Country sound which can be applied both on acoustic and electric for rhythm or lead players!

- Boom-Chika, Boom-Chika - Repeat and try with alternating bass notes too (e.g., on an open C chord, alternate between the root C and G bass note, 3rd fret string 6)

This technique will give your playing that unmistakable country sound and help you get comfortable with alternating bass notes, which adds great variety to your playing.

Embellishments

Finally, to add some spice to your playing, we can explore chord embellishments. Commonly, this is lifting off a finger to an open string and hammering it back on (2nd fret on A to open A for the G major chord!) to create a dynamic and more interesting sound while you play. It’s all about finding the right balance though — sometimes, less is more!

By the end of this lesson, you'll have a solid chord foundation under your fingers which is very 'Country' and lays a bed for lead parts and solos for the next 5 lessons in this course!

Now you can confidently play through the chord progression, integrate strumming patterns, and add techniques that are essential to the Country rhythm guitar sound, check out lesson 2!