Learning ‘O Canada’ on Guitar!

I had a really tough time finding a guitar tutorial for ‘O Canada’ with chords. However, this video shows how to play ‘O Canada’ with notes. I wasn’t pleased with this at first, but I realized that playing the notes based on string and fret actually really helped my overall understanding and feeling of the guitar!

How to play ‘O Canada’ on guitar, note by note:

Since I had a hard time following along and actually memorizing how to play this song, I decided to take it upon myself to write out the notes, along with the lyrics, of ‘O Canada’. I’m happy to share it if anyone else wants to use it!

My sheet music for the above video:

by Kathryn Ebert

What to remember while playing ‘O Canada’ in this way:

• The “D, G, A, etc.” refer to the string names. Recall the abbreviation Every Adult Dog Growls Barks eats to remember the string names (starting from top –> bottom).
  • E (6)
  • A (5)
  • D (4)
  • G (3)
  • B (2)
  • e (1)
• The numbers refer to which fret you are going to press down the string on. If the note is “D2,” then you would strum the D string while pressing down on the second fret. If there is “0,” then you strum the string openly (don’t press down on anything).

New chords I’ve learned (C major, A minor and D minor):

C major:

“File:C major chord for guitar (open).svg” by Ashaio is marked with CC0 1.0

• This one is difficult for me as your fingers need to be spread very widely.
• Strum 5 strings, skipping the 6th string (E)

A minor:

“File:A minor chord for guitar (open).svg” by Ashaio is marked with CC0 1.0

D minor:

“File:D minor chord for guitar (open).svg” by Ashaio is marked with CC0 1.0

Overall, my guitar journey is going well! I am still working on moving smoothly from chord to chord, but I can see myself improving.