I Thank God | Guitar Lesson and Chords | Maverick City Music

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Who wrote the worship song I Thank God?

I Thank God is written by Aaron Moses, Chuck Butler, Dante Bowe, Enrique Holmes, Jesse Cline, Maryanne George, Maryanne J George on the label Maverick City Music and released in the year 2021.

What is the Worship Song I Thank God About?

The main themes of I Thank God are redemption, gratitude, praise, restoration, and thankfulness. The lyrics say that "you pick me up, turn me around; you place my feet on solid ground. I thank the master, I thank the Savior. I thank God. The verses illustrate how lost a sinner is, and the chorus focuses more on the life change that happens through being redeemed. 

What Key is I Thank God in?

I Thank God is originally in the key of Db, otherwise known as C#. The best way to play this worship song on guitar is to place a capo on the 1st fret and use C chords. Alternatively, you can place the capo on the 6th fret and use G chords. This key is for a male lead vocal.

I Thank God Guitar Lesson

Today we're covering the song I Thank God. And if you're looking for some energy, this is the song for you. It is fast at a hundred and thirty beats per minute and especially with the full band.

It just builds with a lot of energy. So we'll cover some different Capo options you can use with this song as well as ya strum pattern that will work well with this song.

So let's take a look at the chord chart for this worship song, and you can that see we're using the C chord family for this. Long, it's actually in the key of D flat which is the same thing as C sharp. This capo is moving everything up one half step. That's what the Capo does, essentially.

It turns a C chord into a C sharp chord. There are other options which we'll later, but that's what we'll cover in this lesson.

Because this song happens so quickly, you will see lots of grouping of chords, such as several C chords in a row. You'll also come across some other common chords, like Am, Dm, G, and F.

You'll also notice a stop at the end of certain section. The little filled in triangle means you'll stop where it's marked, which will be on the third beat of that measure.

This provides an effect that you can use in your own songwriting if you want to

Most of the rest of the chart is pretty easy. You're just following the chords. Also, make sure to also follow the repeats. These symbols refer you back to the section you just played.

Overall, there is a pretty straightforward song structure and chord structure.

So now that we have a decent idea of the song. Let's start with your left hand and different ways to play this song.

The first method is to cover C sharp is to use a capo on the first fret and play C chord family chords.

However, there are a few other things you can do as well, if you if you're playing with another guitar player.

Capo on the 6th fret and play G chord family chords. These nice high chords almost starts to sound like a mandolin just a little bit. So this is a really good option.

If you want to Capo 6 using the G chord family, you can learn how to transpose this song, by using the Nashville Number System. I cover that in my intermediate course, along with more info on capos

Capo 1 in C provides some nice open sounding chords, and and you can play the intro look really easily with your pinky finger.

For your F chord, a lot of people struggle to play the the bar chord. So one option here is to play a Csus chord instead. This is a little bit of a cheat, however it sounds great!

And if you want a challenge, reach your thumb around to get the F bass note on the first fret of the low E string.

This works instead of using a traditional bar chord.

For your G chord, you can play it "open" by leaving the little B string open.

One uncommon chord that you'll see is a C/E slash chord. You simply play the C chord with an E as the bass note.

I Thank God Strum Pattern

Now. Let's talk about your right hand and strumming. This song is really fast. So the easiest way to keep up with the song is just focus on down strums and downstrokes.

Don't worry about your up strums at first. Just play eighth notes as you count out the measures the beats of the measure. That will be the easiest way to keep up with the song.

Also, keep the downstrokes pretty short. You don't want full strums because that'll be too much to come back to your position. You just want little flicks of the wrist. Two or three strings even we'll be fine.

If you want to match the song's feel a little bit better you can add in some upstrokes as well. It's a little more difficult, but it may match a little better with the rhythm of the song.

If you're a beginner just give it one strum per core to get used to all your switches. And then if you can keep up with the song, work your way into eighth notes. You can also always back off to quarter notes.

Now let's talk about the signature lick of the song that you'll hear in the intro. It's really simple, but it does

add to the sound and kind of helps identify the song. So the way to play that is to start with a C chord and then move into a Csus chord. To understand the rhythm of it, it is best to just listen to it and try to repeat it with downstrokes. It is a little bit syncopated, so it may take some time to play it correctly.

If you're using a G chord on capo 6, then the way to do that is to play G chord and then have your middle finger come down for the C chord shape. Just keep that pointer finger where it is.

You can of course play it in the intro and you could even work it into the verses if you want in between the verses at the beginning.

So we've covered your left hand, some Capo options your right hand, and some strumming options. That should get you started with the song I Thank God.