Cowboy Chord Songs, pt. II – Adding the Rhythm

Last month I posted about Cowboy/Open Chord songs and forming chord shapes to help smooth transitions. As an example, I chose the song Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door which uses only four chords: G, D, Am, C.

In this second installment students will begin strumming the chords in whole note rhythms/every four beats keeping the beat as slow as needed in order to switch chords “in-time”. This may be a good opportunity to introduce playing with a metronome so students become accustomed to playing with an established beat. Additionally, strumming should be limited to simple down strokes (as depicted by the arrows in the diagram below). 

By using whole note rhythms the player has plenty of time to think about the next chord change and transition to it in time. Furthermore, players will be forced to count, get a sense of where the downbeat is and feel a longer "phrase". 

Next month I’ll continue on the topic of how to teach Cowboy/Open Chord songs - til' then. 

Cowboy Chord Songs, pt.I

Most guitar teachers have “go-to” songs used for the purpose of teaching certain skills, but how to approach teaching those songs is another matter. My personal preference is to develop skills from the ground-up starting at the most basic level; with this type of approach the teacher can be assured that the student has a firm understanding of prior knowledge as they move forward. 

Last month I posted about Cowboy Chords otherwise known as Open Chords and this month I continue the train of thought by discussing how to teach songs that use them - one of my favorite go-to tunes is the Bob Dylan classic Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. The song uses four chords: G, D, Am, C and I like to use it not only for the simplicity of its strumming pattern, but also because it is fairly easy to strum and sing at the same time. If you are unfamiliar with the song take a look at the progression below. 

Next month I’ll be digging into the approach of teaching the song, but for now have your student be more concerned with strumming the chords in their proper order. There are no guide/pivot fingers so make sure to have them practice making chord shapes to help smooth the transition from chord to chord.

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