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Amazing Grace: guitar chords and tab for beginners
United States, 1835
Amazing Grace
by Traditional (New Britain)
- Tempo
- 84beats per minute
- Count
- 3beats in each bar
- Key
- C majorthe home note
- Level
- 1 of 3easiest
Level 1. Strum one chord per beat. Start here.
Chord names above, strum arrows below. Down arrow = strum down toward the floor, up arrow = back up.
Hold this chord
How to read it
- Red cross: don’t play that string. Skip it when you strum.
- Green circle: play that string open, with no finger on it.
- Number: press there with that finger. 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky.
- Letters: the strings, thickest (low E) on the left to thinnest (high e) on the right.
Space bar plays and pauses. Left and right arrows jump a bar.
The chords
The chords in Amazing Grace
3 chords, open shapes apart from F: C, F, G7. 3 beats in each bar, 84 beats per minute, in C major.
C major
3 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →F major
barre, 4 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →G seven
3 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →
In words: C major is x 3 2 0 1 0. F major is 1 3 3 2 1 1 (finger 1 flat across fret 1). G seven is 3 2 0 0 0 1. Numbers are frets, thick string to thin, and x means do not play that string.
About the song
John Newton wrote the words in 1772; the tune, called New Britain, joined them in 1835. It is one of the most sung songs in the world. Three chords carry it, and the melody uses only five notes, which is why it works so well as a first fingerstyle piece.
Questions people ask
- What chords are in Amazing Grace?
- Three chords: C, F and G7. F needs a finger laid flat across the neck, which is the hard part of this one.
- What key is Amazing Grace in?
- C major. The key control on this page moves it up or down, and tells you where to put a capo so you can keep the same easy shapes.
- Is Amazing Grace easy to play on guitar?
- It is a step up from the first songs here: three chords at 84 beats per minute. Slow it to 50 percent, and try Ode to Joy and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star first if it fights back.
- What is the strumming pattern for Amazing Grace?
- Five strums in each bar: down, down, up, down, up. There are 3 beats in every bar. The arrows above the chord boxes move with the sound, so you can see the pattern as you hear it.
- How do I play Amazing Grace on guitar?
- Three ways on this page, all from the same arrangement. Chords mode strums one chord at a time, Melody mode picks the tune from the tab, and Fingerstyle mode plays the bass with your thumb under the tune. Start in Chords mode at 60 percent speed.
- Who wrote Amazing Grace?
- Traditional (New Britain). United States, 1835. The music is old enough to be in the public domain, so it is free to learn, play and record.
Learn more
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Guitar string notes
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