Chords for How To Play James Taylor Country Road (intro only)
Tempo:
81.15 bpm
Chords used:
D
G
C
A
Bm
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[D]
Country Road is in drop D tuning, so take your sixth string and tune it down to D.
And that sets us up for the introduction, which is bars 1 to 5 of your tap.
[C] [G]
[D] [G] [D]
[E] So we're coming in at bar 1 with a little three-note pickup.
It's the fifth string open, hammer to second fret, and then the fourth string [A] open.
[D]
I do that generally with [B] thumb, and then probably [D] index finger, but thumb and then thumb would be fine too.
[B] So that's a little pickup.
It's coming in on the fourth beat of the bar.
[D] So that the proper one, the proper downbeat, is the beginning of the next bar, where you go into a D chord,
but open the first string, you're going to pick four and one and hammer one to the second fret.
Then hit the sixth string twice.
That droning sixth string is a really continuing feature of this song.
Then the third string out of the D chord.
Add the first string at the third fret, play two and one [G] together, and then take that little finger [E] away,
so you've got a normal D chord, two and one together again, but pull off one [Bm] from second string to open.
[G] Then play the second string on its [D] own, should be at the third fret, and then two and one again,
and this time one will hammer back from open to second fret.
And then two hits of the sixth string, again droning.
That's a lot of information into one bar.
It's counting like this.
[G] [Bm] [E] Now [D]
[G] [A] [B] [D]
to bar three.
The C over D chord is [C] simply the second string at the first fret.
Play strings three, two and one all together twice.
Sixth string [D] twice.
Third string should [G] be open, and the sixth string again.
Then come up to this shape.
The first and second strings at the third fret, which I do with a little mini bar,
and the third string at the fourth fret.
It's outlining a G chord.
And we play three, two and one.
Sixth [D] twice.
Then add the [G] sixth string at the fifth fret.
Play that.
Pick the top three strings again, still in the same fretted position.
And then have the [D] ring finger come away, play the fifth [A] string open,
and then the [D] sixth string as you're moving to the D chord shape that comes at bar four, the next bar.
So that's counting.
[C] One [G] E and a two E,
three odd, [D] E, [G] and a [D] four E, a.
As you're moving back to the D [C] chord.
That's very sophisticated rhythmically.
It's very syncopated.
It takes a little bit of practice to get that down.
[G] [D]
And you almost, [G] because I'm feeling that open sixth string as the arrival of the D chord,
but just a fraction of a beat early, that open sixth string at the end of the previous bar,
my instinct is to go immediately to that D chord.
It almost feels like that passage is not complete until I've played the first notes of bar four.
So let's get into bar four.
We're going back into a D chord, but again, open the [D] first string,
three, two and one, and hammer one to the second fret.
Sixth string twice.
Third string.
And now it's the same as the [G] second half of bar two.
It's the little lick phrase.
[D]
So I won't go over that again in detail.
That bar, in fact, bar four, is the same as bar two,
except instead of the pinch of six and one at the beginning,
it just plays the top three strings.
[G] So here it is with the count.
[D] One E, two and a three E, and a four E.
[G] Final bar of the intro, bar five, your C over D chord.
Again, it's the top three [C] strings played twice.
Sixth string [Dm] twice.
Come to our little partial G chord that we played before in bar three.
[G] Play three, two and one.
Come back to a D chord [D] and play three, two and one.
Then six.
[Dm] And then this pick up phrase that takes us into the verse.
[A] Fifth string open, [B] second fret.
[D] Fourth string open.
Fifth [Bm] string, second fret.
[D] Fourth string open.
[A] Now he picks all of [Bm] those, so [D] that's how he's going to play it.
I prefer to hammer that [F] first one open to [Bm] second fret,
[D] but it's entirely whichever [C] you prefer.
The count of that bar, bar five.
One E [D] and [G] a two.
[D] One D [Bm]
and a [D] four E.
So [A] I'm going to play the whole intro now again, and slowly.
[D]
[C] [G]
[D]
[C] [G]
[D]
Notice the [G] little tiny nuance in there,
and the final bar when I played that partial G chord going to D,
[D] I just stopped [G] that G chord.
There I stop it by relaxing [D] on the string,
then come down to the D shape, and that one can ring.
[Ab] OK, that's your introduction.
That will take us into verse one,
and we'll cover that in the next video.
Country Road is in drop D tuning, so take your sixth string and tune it down to D.
And that sets us up for the introduction, which is bars 1 to 5 of your tap.
[C] [G]
[D] [G] [D]
[E] So we're coming in at bar 1 with a little three-note pickup.
It's the fifth string open, hammer to second fret, and then the fourth string [A] open.
[D]
I do that generally with [B] thumb, and then probably [D] index finger, but thumb and then thumb would be fine too.
[B] So that's a little pickup.
It's coming in on the fourth beat of the bar.
[D] So that the proper one, the proper downbeat, is the beginning of the next bar, where you go into a D chord,
but open the first string, you're going to pick four and one and hammer one to the second fret.
Then hit the sixth string twice.
That droning sixth string is a really continuing feature of this song.
Then the third string out of the D chord.
Add the first string at the third fret, play two and one [G] together, and then take that little finger [E] away,
so you've got a normal D chord, two and one together again, but pull off one [Bm] from second string to open.
[G] Then play the second string on its [D] own, should be at the third fret, and then two and one again,
and this time one will hammer back from open to second fret.
And then two hits of the sixth string, again droning.
That's a lot of information into one bar.
It's counting like this.
[G] [Bm] [E] Now [D]
[G] [A] [B] [D]
to bar three.
The C over D chord is [C] simply the second string at the first fret.
Play strings three, two and one all together twice.
Sixth string [D] twice.
Third string should [G] be open, and the sixth string again.
Then come up to this shape.
The first and second strings at the third fret, which I do with a little mini bar,
and the third string at the fourth fret.
It's outlining a G chord.
And we play three, two and one.
Sixth [D] twice.
Then add the [G] sixth string at the fifth fret.
Play that.
Pick the top three strings again, still in the same fretted position.
And then have the [D] ring finger come away, play the fifth [A] string open,
and then the [D] sixth string as you're moving to the D chord shape that comes at bar four, the next bar.
So that's counting.
[C] One [G] E and a two E,
three odd, [D] E, [G] and a [D] four E, a.
As you're moving back to the D [C] chord.
That's very sophisticated rhythmically.
It's very syncopated.
It takes a little bit of practice to get that down.
[G] [D]
And you almost, [G] because I'm feeling that open sixth string as the arrival of the D chord,
but just a fraction of a beat early, that open sixth string at the end of the previous bar,
my instinct is to go immediately to that D chord.
It almost feels like that passage is not complete until I've played the first notes of bar four.
So let's get into bar four.
We're going back into a D chord, but again, open the [D] first string,
three, two and one, and hammer one to the second fret.
Sixth string twice.
Third string.
And now it's the same as the [G] second half of bar two.
It's the little lick phrase.
[D]
So I won't go over that again in detail.
That bar, in fact, bar four, is the same as bar two,
except instead of the pinch of six and one at the beginning,
it just plays the top three strings.
[G] So here it is with the count.
[D] One E, two and a three E, and a four E.
[G] Final bar of the intro, bar five, your C over D chord.
Again, it's the top three [C] strings played twice.
Sixth string [Dm] twice.
Come to our little partial G chord that we played before in bar three.
[G] Play three, two and one.
Come back to a D chord [D] and play three, two and one.
Then six.
[Dm] And then this pick up phrase that takes us into the verse.
[A] Fifth string open, [B] second fret.
[D] Fourth string open.
Fifth [Bm] string, second fret.
[D] Fourth string open.
[A] Now he picks all of [Bm] those, so [D] that's how he's going to play it.
I prefer to hammer that [F] first one open to [Bm] second fret,
[D] but it's entirely whichever [C] you prefer.
The count of that bar, bar five.
One E [D] and [G] a two.
[D] One D [Bm]
and a [D] four E.
So [A] I'm going to play the whole intro now again, and slowly.
[D]
[C] [G]
[D]
[C] [G]
[D]
Notice the [G] little tiny nuance in there,
and the final bar when I played that partial G chord going to D,
[D] I just stopped [G] that G chord.
There I stop it by relaxing [D] on the string,
then come down to the D shape, and that one can ring.
[Ab] OK, that's your introduction.
That will take us into verse one,
and we'll cover that in the next video.
Key:
D
G
C
A
Bm
D
G
C
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Country Road is in drop D tuning, so take your sixth string and tune it down to D. _
And that sets us up for the introduction, which is bars 1 to 5 of your tap.
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ [G] _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [E] So we're coming in at bar 1 with a little three-note pickup.
It's the fifth string open, hammer to second fret, and then the fourth string [A] open.
[D] _
_ I do that generally with [B] thumb, and then probably [D] index finger, but thumb and then thumb would be fine too.
_ [B] So that's a little pickup.
It's coming in on the fourth beat of the bar.
[D] _ So that the proper one, the proper downbeat, is the beginning of the next bar, where you go into a D chord,
but open the first string, you're going to pick four and one and hammer one to the second fret.
Then hit the sixth string twice.
That droning sixth string is a really continuing feature of this song.
Then the third string out of the D chord.
Add the first string at the third fret, play two and one [G] together, and then take that little finger [E] away,
so you've got a normal D chord, two and one together again, but pull off one [Bm] from second string to open.
[G] _ _ Then play the second string on its [D] own, should be at the third fret, _ and then two and one again,
and this time one will hammer back from open to second fret.
And then two hits of the sixth string, again droning.
_ That's a lot of information into one bar.
It's counting like this.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ [Bm] _ _ [E] Now _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ [A] _ [B] _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ to _ bar three.
The C over D chord is [C] simply the second string at the first fret.
Play strings three, two and one all together twice.
_ _ Sixth string [D] twice.
Third string should [G] be open, and the sixth string again.
_ Then come up to this shape.
The first and second strings at the third fret, which I do with a little mini bar,
and the third string at the fourth fret.
It's outlining a G chord.
And we play three, two and one.
Sixth [D] twice.
Then add the [G] sixth string at the fifth fret.
Play that.
Pick the top three strings again, still in the same fretted position.
And then have the [D] ring finger come away, play the fifth [A] string open,
and then the [D] sixth string as you're moving to the D chord shape that comes at bar four, the next bar.
_ So that's counting.
[C] One [G] E and a two E,
three odd, [D] E, [G] and a [D] four E, a.
As you're moving back to the D [C] chord.
That's very sophisticated rhythmically.
It's very syncopated.
It takes a little bit of practice to get that down.
_ [G] _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ And you almost, [G] because I'm feeling that open sixth string as the arrival of the D chord,
but just a fraction of a beat early, that open sixth string at the end of the previous bar,
my instinct is to go immediately to that D chord.
It almost feels like that passage is not complete until I've played the first notes of bar four.
So let's get into bar four.
We're going back into a D chord, but again, open the [D] first string,
three, two and one, and hammer one to the second fret.
_ Sixth string twice.
Third string.
And now it's the same as the [G] second half of bar two.
It's the little lick phrase.
_ [D] _
_ _ So I won't go over that again in detail.
That bar, in fact, bar four, is the same as bar two,
except instead of the pinch of six and one at the beginning,
it just plays the top three strings.
_ _ [G] So here it is with the count.
[D] One E, _ _ two and a three E, and a four E.
_ _ _ _ [G] Final bar of the intro, bar five, your C over D chord.
Again, it's the top three [C] strings played twice.
Sixth string [Dm] twice.
Come to our little partial G chord that we played before in bar three.
[G] Play three, two and one.
Come back to a D chord [D] and play three, two and one.
Then six.
[Dm] And then this pick up phrase that takes us into the verse.
[A] Fifth string open, [B] second fret.
[D] Fourth string open.
Fifth [Bm] string, second fret.
[D] Fourth string open. _ _
[A] Now he picks all of [Bm] those, so [D] that's how he's going to play it.
I prefer to hammer that [F] first one open to [Bm] second fret,
_ [D] but it's entirely whichever [C] you prefer.
The count of that bar, bar five.
_ _ One E [D] and [G] a two.
[D] _ One D _ [Bm]
and a [D] four E.
So _ [A] I'm going to play the whole intro now again, and slowly.
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ [G] _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Notice the [G] little tiny nuance in there,
and the final bar when I played that partial G chord going to D,
[D] _ _ I just stopped [G] that G chord.
There I stop it by relaxing [D] on the string,
then come down to the D shape, and that one can ring. _
[Ab] OK, that's your introduction.
That will take us into verse one,
and we'll cover that in the next video.
Country Road is in drop D tuning, so take your sixth string and tune it down to D. _
And that sets us up for the introduction, which is bars 1 to 5 of your tap.
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ [G] _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [E] So we're coming in at bar 1 with a little three-note pickup.
It's the fifth string open, hammer to second fret, and then the fourth string [A] open.
[D] _
_ I do that generally with [B] thumb, and then probably [D] index finger, but thumb and then thumb would be fine too.
_ [B] So that's a little pickup.
It's coming in on the fourth beat of the bar.
[D] _ So that the proper one, the proper downbeat, is the beginning of the next bar, where you go into a D chord,
but open the first string, you're going to pick four and one and hammer one to the second fret.
Then hit the sixth string twice.
That droning sixth string is a really continuing feature of this song.
Then the third string out of the D chord.
Add the first string at the third fret, play two and one [G] together, and then take that little finger [E] away,
so you've got a normal D chord, two and one together again, but pull off one [Bm] from second string to open.
[G] _ _ Then play the second string on its [D] own, should be at the third fret, _ and then two and one again,
and this time one will hammer back from open to second fret.
And then two hits of the sixth string, again droning.
_ That's a lot of information into one bar.
It's counting like this.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ [Bm] _ _ [E] Now _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ [A] _ [B] _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ to _ bar three.
The C over D chord is [C] simply the second string at the first fret.
Play strings three, two and one all together twice.
_ _ Sixth string [D] twice.
Third string should [G] be open, and the sixth string again.
_ Then come up to this shape.
The first and second strings at the third fret, which I do with a little mini bar,
and the third string at the fourth fret.
It's outlining a G chord.
And we play three, two and one.
Sixth [D] twice.
Then add the [G] sixth string at the fifth fret.
Play that.
Pick the top three strings again, still in the same fretted position.
And then have the [D] ring finger come away, play the fifth [A] string open,
and then the [D] sixth string as you're moving to the D chord shape that comes at bar four, the next bar.
_ So that's counting.
[C] One [G] E and a two E,
three odd, [D] E, [G] and a [D] four E, a.
As you're moving back to the D [C] chord.
That's very sophisticated rhythmically.
It's very syncopated.
It takes a little bit of practice to get that down.
_ [G] _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ And you almost, [G] because I'm feeling that open sixth string as the arrival of the D chord,
but just a fraction of a beat early, that open sixth string at the end of the previous bar,
my instinct is to go immediately to that D chord.
It almost feels like that passage is not complete until I've played the first notes of bar four.
So let's get into bar four.
We're going back into a D chord, but again, open the [D] first string,
three, two and one, and hammer one to the second fret.
_ Sixth string twice.
Third string.
And now it's the same as the [G] second half of bar two.
It's the little lick phrase.
_ [D] _
_ _ So I won't go over that again in detail.
That bar, in fact, bar four, is the same as bar two,
except instead of the pinch of six and one at the beginning,
it just plays the top three strings.
_ _ [G] So here it is with the count.
[D] One E, _ _ two and a three E, and a four E.
_ _ _ _ [G] Final bar of the intro, bar five, your C over D chord.
Again, it's the top three [C] strings played twice.
Sixth string [Dm] twice.
Come to our little partial G chord that we played before in bar three.
[G] Play three, two and one.
Come back to a D chord [D] and play three, two and one.
Then six.
[Dm] And then this pick up phrase that takes us into the verse.
[A] Fifth string open, [B] second fret.
[D] Fourth string open.
Fifth [Bm] string, second fret.
[D] Fourth string open. _ _
[A] Now he picks all of [Bm] those, so [D] that's how he's going to play it.
I prefer to hammer that [F] first one open to [Bm] second fret,
_ [D] but it's entirely whichever [C] you prefer.
The count of that bar, bar five.
_ _ One E [D] and [G] a two.
[D] _ One D _ [Bm]
and a [D] four E.
So _ [A] I'm going to play the whole intro now again, and slowly.
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ [G] _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Notice the [G] little tiny nuance in there,
and the final bar when I played that partial G chord going to D,
[D] _ _ I just stopped [G] that G chord.
There I stop it by relaxing [D] on the string,
then come down to the D shape, and that one can ring. _
[Ab] OK, that's your introduction.
That will take us into verse one,
and we'll cover that in the next video.