Guitar Tricks Online Guitar Lessons

Chorus

 
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Now it's time to learn about the all-important section of a song called a chorus and then we'll use that knowledge to come up with a chorus for our own song.

First let's take our road trip metaphor, the riff is revving the engine of the car in the driveway. Then the verse is cruising down the highway. Now the chorus would be our destination, and traditionally it's the climax of the song where everyone can sing along. Think of our destination as something epic you've always wanted to see like the Grand Canyon, for example; or it could be something fun like wedding or a party.

So how do we make the chorus more climactic than the verse? Well, in the verse we stayed on each of the chords for quite a while, which gave us that steady 'cruising down the highway' feel. So now let's try a change chords a bit more quickly and see how that works.

Let's go to a G power-chord and play that for 1 bar. After that we'll go all the way up to C in the 8th and 10th fret. It's a bit of a jump, but you'll notice that I'm sliding the power chord on the last strum. That helps, so you don't have to make the jump in between strums. Another helpful tip is to stare at the fret you're moving to. Don't stare at your fingers, while they're moving, Stare at the fret you're aiming for!

Now let's practice the chorus part together. I'll count us in and then we'll play through it slowly.

Instructor Anders Mouridsen
Tutorial:
Rock Riff #1
Styles:
Any Style
Difficulty:
print notation download lesson open guitar tuner
Chorus song notation

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Questions & Answers

1 year ago
I can get that continuous slide sound when going from G5 to C5 but can't seem to get the same type of sound when going from C5 to G5. Is this just a matter of more practice or is it supposed to be this way? BTW - I need to hit that final strum pretty hard to get any sliding sound. A soft strum just doesn't work for me.
Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hello - thanks so much for your question! You are correct, you have to hit that final strum a bit harder to get the sliding sound to pop out! You should be able to get a similar sliding sound when sliding down from C to G. Isolate the slide and practice it over and over. With lots of repetition, you will start to get a feel for what works to get that slide down to sound like the slide up. Keep at it - you'll get it! Hope this helps!

1 year ago
I'm having trouble understanding Mike's response to Rosanna on this Q&A page. it isn't clear to me what is meant by "make sure you're not lifting your fingers off the frets as you slide." My fingers are touching the strings, not the frets. Does that mean I should touch the frets and fretboard by sliding my fingers between the strings instead of on top of them? Or is it something else?
Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hello - thanks for your question! In the musical example of this lesson, you switch chords by sliding to them. In order to make the sound of the first chord, you'll be pressing down your fingers on the 3rd fret of the low string, and 5th fret of the A string. Notice that all chords in the example use these 2 strings, so you won't have to move your fingers off of those strings. Now, when it comes time to change to the C chord, keep the same finger formation, and simply move your hand up to the 8th and 10th fret without lifting your fingers off the strings. It is a common technique and makes a cool sound. Anders explains this around 2:15. Hope this helps!

2 years ago
Hi, when I am sliding from G to C power chord there is this unpleasant squeaking noise when I slide. What am I doing wrong please?
Mike Olekshy 2 years ago

Hi Rosanna - thanks for your question! Some squeaking is normal when you slide up. Make sure you're not lifting your fingers off the frets as you slide, as that will definitely make the squeaking noise more pronounced. If you keep your fingers on the fretboard, you'll hear more of the notes mixed in as you slide up, and it should sound more like what Anders' example sounded like. Hope this helps!

2 years ago
When I was playing C power chord, there are always disturbing other noises, it’s not as clean as the teacher played? Is there anything wrong with my guitar? It’s an Fanta Stratocaster players.
Josh Workman 2 years ago

Hi, unfortunately without actually hearing you playing your guitar, it's pretty impossible to know. Depending on your subscription level, you can submit a feedback video and one of us can check it out to get a better idea of what you're dealing with.