When playing guitar music in any given key, the chords that you will often use the most are the diatonic chords in that key. The diatonic chords for a key are as follows: major chords for scale degrees I and IV; minor chords for ii, iii, and vi; dominant seventh for V; and diminished for vii. My diatonic chord chart provides chord diagrams for these main chords in the keys of C, G, D, A, E, and F.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
My home internet provider, Open Range, recently went out of business. Between not having any home service and the holiday, I have not had the access to the Web that I would have liked to have had. I hope to resume posting regularly as I adjust my schedule to fit the times that I will have access elsewhere.
I recently produced a simplified version of O for a Closer Walk with God for my guitar students. It can be played as a duet or both parts can be played by the same student.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Here is Nearer, Still Nearer in my solfeggio and chords format, including both the Spanish and English names of the chords.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
This newly formatted version of Silent Night provides both the melody and the basic chords to play the song in any key. The melody is in my solfeggio format, and the basic chords are given with Roman numerals that designate which chord in a key you should play and when.
This document also provides a chart that shows what basic chords you would play the song in the keys of C, G, D, A, E, and F.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
For the past three weeks, I have been teaching a guitar class for a number of people in a church. Because it is a Spanish church, I have been developing a new method of playing guitar that uses the solfeggio syllables instead of notes.
Working on this new method has reinforced my own understanding of playing of the guitar in ways that I was not expecting. It has also helped me improve my own playing!
My latest piece in my solfeggio and simplified chords format is Jesus Loves Me.
Notes for playing this piece:
“DO” means the do that is an octave higher than “Do.”
In the simplified chords diagrams, the partially shaded dot above the first string in the F chord means that you can either not play that string at all or play that string open. Not playing the first string at all, the chord is an F chord; playing the first string open, it is an Fmaj7 chord, which is an acceptable substitute for an F chord.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Using a solfeggio format for guitar makes learning the pitches of the melody of a song easier. I have come up with a modified solfeggio format for playing guitar melodies on one string.
Letting the string played open be “Do,” the rest of the solfeggio notes are played on the following frets:
Re – 2
Mi – 4
Fa – 5
So – 7
La – 9
Ti – 11
DO – 12 (All caps indicates one octave above the starting pitch, “Do”)
This modified solfeggio format works great for learning both the melody of a song and how to play and sing it at the same time!
Here is Passion Chorale in my modified solfeggio format.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Here is a simple guitar arrangement of Finlandia that I produced recently. I would love to get feedback on it from other musicians, especially other guitar players.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Here is an updated listing of the free guitar music on my site! God willing, I plan to add many more pieces in the future.
These pieces are intended for your private individual use only and in the original format. Please contact me if you would like to use them for any other purpose.
Sheet Music
It is Well With My Soul – chord melody solo
Guitar Chords, Melody Notes (in my number format), and First Stanza
O How He Loves Us! – New words to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me”; my song stresses the love of God for us through words that communicate many key doctrinal truths (See explanation of format).
Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Other Music
God Is So Good – easy ensemble piece in four parts
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Pachelbel’s Canon is one of my favorite pieces to play. For many years now, I have been using a simplified version of this piece in the key of C with nearly all of my guitar students.
Here is an updated version that features sheet music for playing the piece with two basic picking patterns (measures 1-16) and two basic strumming patterns (measures 17-33).
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
In addition to strumming and fingerpicking, playing a chord melody solo is a third major way to use the guitar for ministry. This wonderful style allows a guitarist to play in such a way that he plays the melody and accompanies himself.
Here is a chord melody solo for It is Well With My Soul that I recently produced.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Rajesh Gandhi holds a Ph.D. in New Testament Interpretation from Bob Jones Seminary; he's a long-time member of Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville, SC.
