I was going to try and and play one of the songs in Beginner grade 1 module 2. Do you have to purchase the sheet music in order to have it to practice? Also, In Justin’s songs there are 3 chords for the Gambler. In the module it says chords A,D,and E. Every other I have seen online show C, D and G. Some even have other chords. Which would be the correct chords?
Thank You,
Jack
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Hi @Jack255, I do not know this particular song but a song that can be played with C D G can also be played with A D E.
In the key of G, G would be your I (one) chord, C would be your IV (four) chord and D would be your V (five) chord.
In the key of A; A, D and E would be your I, IV and V chords respectively.
So one of these versions would be the transposed version of the other. You can play the song in whichever you like. If you are singing as well or have a singer, you would want to choose the one that suits the singer’s vocal range better.
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No, completely not.
If Justin has done a video lesson on it watch and learn from it, write the chords down to help. https://www.justinguitar.com/songs
There is an option to purchase access to tabs if you want that. https://www.justinguitar.com/store/tabs
The Gambler uses a very common type of chord progression.
To easily see this, let’s lay out letters A to G in a line multiple times and imagine this as a loop around a circle.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G etc.
Start at A
A is 1st
D is 4th
E is 5th
Start at G
G is 1st
C is 4th
D is 5th
It is the same pattern but from a different starting position.
Justin teaches it with A, D, E because it works and because those are the first chords in the beginner course.
Once you learn C and G you can play both ways.
All you are doing in playing one or the other is playing the song in a different key. And this would be done to suit a singer’s voice. Or to match with the actual recording. But the latter is much more awkward as it is not in A nor is it in G (the two keys above).
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If you want to play along with the Kenny Rogers record, you would use the G C D chords. Playing it with A D E just moves the song up one whole step in pitch. So, you could play it using the A D E chord shapes with a capo at the second fret and be in tune with the recording.
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Thank You
Thank You.
Thank You,
This would put you in the key of B, not G.
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You’re correct. Thanks for correcting me. I thought backwards. Brain fart.
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I honestly found Justin’s beginner guitar books and the Justin guitar app to be sufficient to start with! I always found that most internet tab sites had pretty inaccurate material.
I think in the early stages, and all stages really, it’s important to write a song down if you really want to memorize and master it.