Cowboy Chords

Open Chords - chords with one or more open strings, played within thefirst few frets of the guitar - has the sound that we associate with the lone cowboy sitin' on the open range strummin' away for his horse and the lone coyote to enjoy.

The first thing we'll play is the C Major Scale. This scale is played in the first position - that is with your first finger at the first fret, the second finger at the second fret and so on. This can also be called the open position. The combination of open and fretted notes tend to sound "country."

Try the C Scale in open position or first position:

The seven chords associated with the "Key of C" are based on the seven ntes of the C scale and use only notes in the C scale - no sharps or flats. The chords are created by stacking notes in thirds - for example 1-3-5 or 2-4-6. Because each chord has only three notes they are called triads.

 

The "cowboy chords" of C Major are as folows: