Play Your First Full Song: A Horse With No Name

This capstone tutorial ties together everything from the Getting Started and Chords & Strumming tutorials into one real, recognizable song. "A Horse With No Name" by America is famously built from just two chord shapes, which makes it one of the best possible first full songs — all your energy can go into rhythm and chord changes instead of memorizing a long chord list.

What you'll need

• Comfort forming an Em chord (see "Your First Open Chords")
• A steady strumming motion (see "Basic Strumming Patterns")
• About 15 minutes to learn the second chord shape, which is new but closely related to Em

Steps

1. Review your Em shape. Middle finger on the 2nd fret of the A string, ring finger on the 2nd fret of the D string, strumming all six strings. This is chord one of two for the entire song.

2. Learn the second shape, sometimes written D6add9/F# or simplified as "D." From the Em shape, simply slide those same two fingers outward by one string each: middle finger moves to the 2nd fret of the low E string, ring finger moves to the 2nd fret of the G string. It looks intimidating on paper but it's really just your Em shape's fingers, shifted one string wider.

3. Practice switching only between these two shapes, back and forth, checking that all six strings ring clearly on each. Because both chords share the same two-finger shape just moved outward, this change is faster to build than most beginner chord pairs.

4. Add the "galloping" strum pattern. The song's signature groove comes from a swung, uneven strumming feel rather than a straight up-down pattern — try a down, down-up, up-down feel per chord, accenting the first downstroke to get that rolling, horse-gait rhythm the song is named for.

5. Learn the song's structure. Each chord is typically held for a full measure (roughly 4 counts) before switching — Em for a measure, then the second chord for a measure, repeating throughout almost the entire song, with no other chords needed for the verses.

6. Play along with a recording. Once the two-chord switch and strum pattern both feel steady on their own, put on the original recording (or the video above) and strum along in real time. Following a real recording, rather than practicing in isolation, is what turns "I can play these chords" into "I can play this song."