These days it can be quite rare to have a pop song written totally around a rhythm guitar track. The acoustic guitar is beautifully recorded and has a combination of beautiful 7th chords and a cool little melody line which is so much fun to play. We would pitch this song somewhere between beginner and intermediate as it does feature some more challenging chord shapes. No matter your level, give it a try!
The verse section uses five chords, and they are some very cool chords! Choose which Fmaj7 version you prefer to play, but the first one suggested is the voicing (actual chord shape) used in the track.
At the end of the round of chords shown above we hear a cool little melody line played on the guitar, that Post Malone also sings. This melody is based in the C major scale shape in the open position (as this song is based in C major). The melody looks like this:
With all the parts in place, we can now take a look at the structure of the verse. It looks like this:
Fmaj7 /// //// Cmaj7/G /// Am7 /// (riff) /// (repeat x3) F /// Fm ///
To get this strumming pattern exactly as is played in the song we need to use 16th note strumming and the full pattern is as shown below. Remember that this is a two bar strumming pattern, and the only chord that lasts two bars is the Fmaj7. After that, you just repeat the top strumming pattern on each chord.
The final thing we need is the chorus. Here we have a slightly different set of chords. Here are the chords we are playing in order:
Cmaj7 /// //// Am7 /// //// D7 /// //// F /// Fm ///
Ready to move on? Remember to check out every lesson in this unit first – then try the next unit...
This track further cements Post Malone as a songwriter and vocalist. It once again again has a different feel and vibe to his previous tracks, and the combination of a deep R&B bass and tranquil keys with a cool chord progression make for a really laid back and cool song. In this lesson we will learn how to emulate those chords and rhythm of the track on acoustic guitar.