It's a Great Day to Be Alive

by Travis Tritt • Chrissy's First Guitar Song

Hey Chrissy! 👋
This is a simple, step-by-step guide to help you learn your favorite song on guitar. Take it at your own pace — even 10 minutes a day adds up fast. You've got this!

1 Quick Setup

What you'll need:

Tuning tip: Use GuitarTuna and match the strings to E–A–D–G–B–E (thickest to thinnest). Tune every time before playing.

2 The 5 Easy Chords

Tap any large card below to hear the chord for ½ second. Press firmly with your fingertips just behind the frets.

G Major
E A D G B e
Fingers:
• 6th string (low E): 3rd fret – ring finger
• 5th string (A): 2nd fret – middle finger
• 1st string (high e): 3rd fret – pinky (optional at first)
C Major
Mute low E
Fingers:
• 5th string: 3rd fret – ring finger
• 4th string: 2nd fret – middle finger
• 2nd string: 1st fret – index finger
D Major
Mute low strings
Fingers:
• 3rd string: 2nd fret – index
• 1st string: 2nd fret – middle
• 2nd string: 3rd fret – ring
E Minor (Em)
Fingers:
• 5th string: 2nd fret – index finger
• 4th string: 2nd fret – middle finger
(Super easy — only two fingers!)
A Minor (Am)
Fingers:
• 5th string: 2nd fret – middle finger
• 4th string: 2nd fret – ring finger
• 3rd string: 2nd fret – index finger

Quick Reference – All Chords Side by Side

3 Chord Transitions Practice

The most important skill for smooth playing! Tap any pair below to hear the two chords back-to-back. Practice switching cleanly between them.

Tip: Start slow, then speed up. Keep your fingers close to the strings.

4 Play-Along Mode

The big fretboard shows the current chord. You will hear a steady country-style beat (strum) on every beat using the correct chord — perfect for locking in your timing and strumming along!

Tap Play to begin
E A D G B e
Ready • 82 BPM • Continuous beat

Strum along with the steady beat! The rhythm uses the exact chord shown above and loops the full song progression.

5 Strumming Pattern

Relaxed country groove:

↓ ↓↑ ↓↑

Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

The Play-Along mode now gives you a continuous beat to strum along with — just match the rhythm you hear!

6 Song Lyrics with Chords

Verse 1
G I got rice cooking in the microwave
D Got a three day beard I don't Em plan to C shave
And it's a G goofy D thing but I Em just gotta C say
D Hey I'm C doing G alright

Chorus
And it's a G great day to be D alive
I know the Em sun's still shinin' when I C close my eyes
There's some G hard times in the D neighborhood
But why Em can't every day be just this C good?

(The rest follows the same repeating pattern – keep practicing!)

Keep Going, Chrissy! ❤️

Learning guitar is a wonderful thing to do for yourself. This upbeat song is perfect for celebrating the good days.