Best Acoustic Guitar Songs
Throughout the long history of gospel music, the genre has experienced many transitions in sound and scope. What were once negro spirituals were reinvented as hymns and those same hymns eventual were transformed into choir songs and contemporary radio hits.
The very nature of gospel music has always been fluid such that it evolves with each generation. Although the sound has been flexible, the message has remained the same.
Recently, gospel music has experienced a shift toward praise and worship songs that are written and performed from an acoustic guitarist perspective. Artists such as Jonathan McReynolds, Travis Greene, and Israel Houghton have led this movement to heights never witnessed before in the gospel genre.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best gospel songs for acoustic guitar, highlighting their creativity and their creators.
Gospel Chord Progressions for Guitar
2-5-1 Chord Progression
Gospel songs are commonly identified by the way that they move from one chord to another so learning the basic chord progressions of gospel songs will make your learning much easier.
For example, the most common gospel chord progression is the 2-5-1 progression. So if you’re playing in the key of C, this progression begins on the 2-position of the C Major Scale: the note is D. The 5-position is G and the progression resolves on the 1-position: the note is C. Almost every gospel song uses this progression so it is important to learn it in every key.
In our C Major Scale example, the 2-position is minor so you’ll play a D minor chord. The 5-position is major 7th so you’ll play a G major 7th chord. The 1-position is major so you’ll play a C major chord to complete the progression. So we end up with Dm7-G7-C.
7-3-6 Chord Progression
Another popular chord progression in gospel music is the 7-3-6 progression. So if you’re in the key of C Major. Based on the C Major Scale, the 7-3-6 progression includes the 7-position (Bmin) to the 3-position (E7) to the 6-position (Amin). So we end up with Bm7-E7-Am7.
Once you learn these two progressions, you can combine them to form the 7-3-6-2-5-1 progression, which is a complete turnaround in gospel songs. You’re on your way!
Gospel Guitar Songs
Jonathan McReynolds
Travis Greene
Israel Houghton
- Moving Forward
- I Surrender All
- Who is Like the Lord
- Hosanna
- You Are Good
- Everywhere That I Go
- To Worship You I Live
- Not Forgotten
Todd Dulaney
Christian Guitar Songs
Chris Tomlin
Hillsong Worship
Michael W. Smith
Additional GospelChops Articles
Author: Gerald
Gerald is the producer of GospelChops and the Chairman of the GospelChops Foundation.
