Hi Donny,

Without going into too much detail, what you're talking about is Chord Theory. Try this "One, Four, Five" formula for a simple song, for starters.

Choose a chord to start on, like, for instance, a C chord. Call that chord #1 (or Do). Now figure out what chord #4 (Fa) and #5 (Sol) would be. In this case, the 4th chord up from C is F, and the 5th chord up is G.

So, C, F, and G go together as a package deal. Try them for any simple song you can think of - like, Happy Birthday, for instance. Start the song on a C chord and make cord changes when you get to a point in the song where C no longer sounds right.

There's more to this Chord Theory stuff, but "One, Four, Five" is a good place to start. Try it in other keys as well, such as starting the song on a G chord, and figuring out the #4 and #5 chords that go with it.

Hope that helps a little!
- Lisa McCormick, Guitar Tricks Instructor