Christian Hymns Guitar Chords

[Heartbreak Writhe]

Thehymns are categorized alphabetically by title. Some hymns are referred to by multiple name titles. The words for the hymns come mostly from the Trinity Hymnal. The chords for the hymns are generally structured so that the chords are written above the words of the hymn where the chord changes. If there is no change in the chord being played, then generally there will be no chord shown above the words until a change in chord occurs.

The word "worship" comes from the same root as "worth" and "worthy." One definition of "worth" is the level at which someone or something deserves to be valued or rated. "Worthy" means "deserving effort, attention or respect."

Worship involves adoration or respect for the God we deem to be worthy of all we are and have. Viewed from this perspective, worship through song has little to do with the technical proficiency of a musician and everything to do with the heart attitude of the worshiper. God doesn't hear notes so much as He hears hearts! (1 Samuel 16:7)

Years ago, I wrote Beginning Guitar: Folk Songs to teach my elementary students how to play guitar well enough to accompany themselves while singing. I started with one-finger chords, then added a few more simple chords, one at a time. My goal was to ensure kids experienced early success, whether or not they followed through to become proficient guitarists. To my delight, many kids who started out with this approach went on to become outstanding guitarists, much better than me!

This list includes 90 worship songs that can be played by beginning guitarists, even young children. As time allows, I plan to record the songs so beginners can learn by playing along and can hear the tunes if they don't know them. Many of these tunes are widely known.

Whether you want to institute worship in your home, teach your kids to play guitar, or spice up a Sunday school class with music, this book can help. I would appreciate any comments on your experience with these materials. I took time to put this together because of the wonderful response I got for Beginning Guitar: Folk Songs.

I compiled public domain hymns and songs into a booklet, but ran into problems and delays trying to secure permission from copyright holders of more modern songs. I finally gave up. Italicized songs are copyrighted, so words and chords are not published on this site. They can be played with just the simple chords indicated, but you'll have to find the words and figure out where the chords belong. If there is a listed song you really want kids to learn, e-mail me and I'll be happy to assist as best I can.

Want to do more than rhythm chords? The tab here lets you play melody on guitar. Most of the hymns on the "Sheet Music" page are here. If you need tab for one that is not yet here, let us know and we'll move it to the top of our "to do" list. We are adding new songs regularly, so check back often and/or subscribe to keep abreast of what's available.

If you find these tabs helpful, please share this page with other pickers you know, whether online or in person, and by hitting the Facebook "Like" button in the upper right hand corner of this page.

I'm wanting to start playing along with popular songs and the easiest way to find lyrics and music only has guitar chords. I can play those chords on the piano but it just sounds boring. How should I be filling the space between chords to make it sound more interesting and more full?

The guitarist does have a couple of advantages over a pianist in this respect. Early on, a guitarist learns to get more rhythmic interest out of a basic chord, by varying the rhythm of strokes, and by muting. Some of these effects are more difficult on a piano, and some are impossible.

On piano in particular, straight major and minor chords can sometimes sound a little basic, and a lot of the piano accompaniments you hear include dissonant extra notes - ninths, flat 7ths etc. It's hard to say when it's right to do this, but experiment and see what you like the sound of; and look at sheet music to see where they do it (ragtime sheet music is a good place to start).

You can try different inversions of the chords. For example, you might use chord Ic (second inversion) when approaching a cadence. E.g. in the key of C, instead of playing C E G, you would play G C E. I find on the piano that if you play chords in such inversions that you don't end up moving your hand as much, it can sound nicer, as subtle movements which create a larger harmonic change are often more interesting to the ear.

I'm a pianist for a contemporary church, and 90% of the time, I only have chords to work off. The main elements are broken chords and rhythm. I will seem a bit dictative here but I don't want to talk too much and feel free to experiment around. (Will use C Major as an example, / = rest)

When you play a song with just the piano, you have to fill out every register, so with two hands I try to spread out as much as possible. Left hand will always play bass and right will go from G upwards.

It is really hard to explain without showing you, there's a lot more to explain, ideas for improvisation, adding dissonance, building a song, rhythm with both hands etc. if you're interested, just ask and I shall blabber on because improvisation on chords is a joy to play.

Everything above is reasonable advice, but I think an additional consideration is just learning lots and lots of songs, because the more you have under your hands, the more you will naturally draw on this expanding musical vocabulary. When you think it sounds boring, you can draw on the entirety of your resources to add interest, whether that is adding melodic interest with a counterline, harmonic interest by increasing the density of the sound (adding to or changing the basic chord structures), or rhythmic interest (don't forget that the piano is ultimately a percussion instrument).

Also don't forget that one way to add interest is to consider, when it is appropriate in the entire context, not playing at all. In a group context, this is something that is not considered frequently enough. When you lay out and then introduce the new element later, what seemed boring now may sound entirely new and interesting. Of course, this doesn't work for a solo piano setting, but in virtually every other context it is worthy of consideration.

One frustration for chordal instruments in play-along settings is that the background is usually pretty full, and there is just no space for an additional chordal instrument. Not much to do about this when playing along with an actual commercial recording of a song, but on properly done play-along materials, you should be able to dump the channel or track that contains the instrument you play, which will open up the sonic space.

I usually improvise to include something like the melody, parts of the melody, harmony or an accompaniment. Sometimes I mix and mash with these things, or play a counter melody. Practice is key, eventually you can just sit at a piano and play most songs in an interesting way regardless of looking up chords (it is so much faster looking up chords though).

Good post and video. But one thing to consider also is that you can simplify the hymn to a rock or country rythmn and then easily have a guitar and even a full band play along with the song. This might not be a style that suits some churches (particularly those with a full organ) but it is certainly an option.

I learned to decipher the chords from the written key, then transpose them to common singing keys. The chords are usually pretty basic triads, and I only changed chords at the beginning of a measure. It worked. I used key of C, G, and D, with a capo up a fret or two sometimes. I had one guy in the group give feedback as to whether it was too low or too high. Older people like to sing hymns sitting down, and therefore sing softer and lower. Hymn books are written for SATB choirs, where the melody line is pretty high. Transposing down is the thing to do. For instance, one flat is key of F, play it in D or E. Two flats is key of Bb, try it in G.

I played guitar along with traditional hymns at church. You are correct that the keyboard player needs to modify what he is playing to be able to play along. The ELCA (Lutheran Church) published a guitar accompaniment edition of the latest hymnal that works when providing chordal accompaniment. The guitar can play along with the keyboard with a couple of easy modifications: have the keyboardist play only the melody and the bass and the guitar can strum open chords; OR use a capo to strum much higher chords while the keyboard plays in the usual range. Many times the clash is that the guitar is in the same pitch range as the piano. Sometimes the keyboard can do the passing tones when the guitar is in a higher range.

I think the best way (other than a solo fingerstyle/classical arrangement) to play traditional hymns on guitar is to have another instrument on melody, like a flute, violin, oboe, or even another guitar playing up an octave. But if your church has a tradition of singing in parts (SATB), they are not going to appreciate guitar-lead worship.

By learning to master your favourite songs on the guitar your love for music can only continue to grow. Best of all the next time a guitar comes out at a party or an event, you will be ready to impress your friends and family.

Some are as easy as two-chord songs which utilize open chords and are a great starting point for beginner guitar players, others use barre chords, and some have fairly challenging chord progressions and require more advanced technique. The list includes a variety of styles stemming from easy rock guitar songs, country songs, pop songs, Christmas songs and many more (see below for a full list of included styles and genres). Furthermore, it includes links to easy guitar chords, tabs, and strum patterns, although, as previously mentioned, there are several advanced guitar songs that have also been included in our ultimate list of easy songs to learn to play on guitar for beginners.

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