Starting with 1-Finger C & G Chords
Towards the end of Fender Play Level 1, Course 17, electric guitar, rock genre, students will be introduced to the Am and Em chords. The next course, #18, is the Green Day, Good Riddance exercise. This exercise collects the student’s learning in the lessons to that time with a single exercise which practices several of the chords that have been taught thus far: the 1-finger G chord, 1-finger C chord, the Em chord, and the D chord. The exercise is fine, I did the exercise as it was presented and eventually mastered it. But looking back, I wish Fender Play had simply taught the open G and C chords instead.
Green Day Extra Credit – Using Open G and C Chords
While I was working on this exercise with the 1-finger C and G chords, I started learning the Open G and Open C chords using the Musora ‘8 Chords You Must Know’ with Nate Savage. I wanted to improve as fast as I could, but I couldn’t master the G and C chords fast enough to use them in place of the 1-finger G and C cords in the Good Riddance exercise. So, I worked on learning the Open G and C chords at the same time that I was working on this exercise with the 1-finger G and C chords.
By the time I was able to master this exercise with the 1-finger G and C chords, I was able to play the open G and C chords based on the lessons in the ‘8 Chords You Must Know’ video. I started doing the Good Riddance exercise again using the Open G and Open C chords. Fender Play doesn’t teach the Open G and Open C chords until level 3, but if you watch the Nate Savage video and master them, you can replace the 1-finger G and C chords in the Fender Play exercises. From that point forward, I was using the open G and C chords wherever Fender Play used the 1-finger G and C chords. It might take you a little time to nail down the open G and C chords, but I think it was worth it to not have to wait until the Level 3 lessons.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Resources
- Good Riddance, Green Day (official video)
- Musora ‘8 Chords You Must Know’ with Nate Savage