The top query from my Google Search Console for the last 30 days - Cowboy Chords.
2 out of my 3 top performing pages during the last 30 days are on that subject. This is significant to me because I have done ZERO promo on Cowboy Chords since I launched, “Cowboy Chords: A Deep Dive into 1st-Position Fingerings and Application.”
That was last December; 6 months ago.
The top page in question is the sales page to my Unit 1: Cowboy Chords lesson series.
I can only infer there is an acute demand for information on Cowboy Chords, or more technically, “First Position Chords.”
So let’s go over some of this again.
“Cowboy Chords” are otherwise known as “First-Position Chords” and usually contain open strings. The term, “first-position” indicates they occur within the first 4 frets. These are the typical chords (G, C, D etc) that most guitarists first learn.
You can find them being taught all over the internet and in method books everywhere. The very first method book I had – it came with my first guitar purchase at age 11 (1966) – was a Mel Bay book of first-position chords. That's where I learned them.
Why then, is a guy like me who has all this advanced teaching content interested in teaching beginner-level first-position chords that can be found with a simple search?
Because I don't see them being taught the way I teach them. Furthermore, while some might say “cowboy chords” and the “deep dive” of my subtitle is oxymoronic, such an attitude indicates that person does not really understand music &/or the possibilities contained in the guitar.
I am a professional performing guitarist (I estimate more than 10,000 shows since 1969) and I use them constantly.
My basic approach is to teach one chord at a time, including many possible fingerings and some extensions (mainly 7ths) in a common or cliché order or chord progression. I talk about technique issues which are commonly missing; positioning, optimum finger placement order, minimum force and so on. None of the technique issues were dealt with in the Mel Bay book I mentioned.
These lessons are not exhaustive, they merely present the most commonly used chords. So, while this lesson series is aimed at beginner and lower-intermediate students, there are elements that will appeal to students beyond that categorization.
If you are more advanced, it never hurts to revisit the basics! You never know; you just might come across something you missed the last time around. That's happened to me plenty of times.
Cowboy Chords is one of the things I do with beginner students right off the bat. It provides a lot of gratification because entire songs can be played with just 3 or 4 chords. Heck, I can think of several hit songs that use just one, single chord!
Check out what the PDF looks like:
Chord progressions are given in the PDF &/or the videos for these songs:
Refugee - Tom Petty
Born on the Bayou - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival
What I Like About You - The Romantics
Toes - Zac Brown Band
Another Saturday Night - Sam Cooke
With a Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles
Save Tonight - Eagle Eye Cherry
Stand by Me - Ben E. King
Silhouette - The Four Seasons
Dream - The Everly Brothers
Every Breath You Take - The Police
If you want the first lesson for free just go to the Cowboy Chords sales page. There's a bunch of free content there and you don't have to buy anything.
So...I'm not gonna do a big fancy promo campaign on this; I'm just gonna run a special, limited-time offer for anyone who wants it.
From Monday, June 17th through Sunday, June 23rd it will be available to anyone who wants it for the original launch price - $49.
To download the PDF at retail is $99.
With the Site Member Discount it's $59.
So you can see that this $49 is roughly a half-off deal!
After June 23rd this deal will go away, so if you're interested, hop on it! There will be no other ads or prompts.
How about 5 FREE lessons?
The 5-Lesson Foundational Series teaches the Circle of Keys as an organizational mechanism by which you ensure that whatever you learn is drilled in every key in all possible positions. It also gives you a method to find any note, anywhere, without memorizing note names on every string. That is a beautiful thing! Most of what I teach presupposes it.
You can download the 5-Lesson Foundational Series right here for free with no further obligation or commitment. Click on the link above or picture below to get your free PDF:
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