Summary: Psycho

This super cool song combines relaxed chill out instrumentation with a quick and quite intense rap from Post Malone. The combination of the two sounds give the track a really nice summer feel, and as guitar players, we can learn from the main harmony behind the rap, which essentially just consists of two chords! Simone skill-fully breaks it down for you in this Psycho guitar lesson.

The Chords: Just two!

The good news is that we only need two chords to play this song! Firstly, be sure to pop a capo on the 3rd fret to make this as easy as possible for you. Then you need to play the following two chord shapes for 2 bars each throughout the whole song.

The Rhythm: Strumming pattern

In this video Simone walks you through a number of rhythm patterns you can use for this song, each giving you a different vibe. The first pattern, when using the plectrum is simply this: (not sure how to read this pattern... take our free beginners rhythm guitar course)

Alternate Rhythms: Percussive Approach

You can also use a more percussive approach with fewer strums to add to the sound of the song. This simply means that on the 2nd and 4th beats of the bar you hit the strings with the side of your hand to get a sort of 'judo chop' effect! The rhythm would then be more like this (remember that the 2 and 4 beats are percussive):

if you are also familiar with fingerpicking then you can create an even more laid back version here to add to the vibe! You can essentially do whatever pattern you like, but the pattern Simone chose is the same as above, just with your fingers instead of a pick. You can use all four fingers to grab the chord and the thumb to do the 'judo chop'!.

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