Easy 3-Chord Song on Guitar? Learn "Breakfast At Tiffany's"

Breakfast At Tiffany's is the perfect tune for beginner guitarists!

In today's lesson, you'll learn how to play Breakfast At Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something. I used to play this in my covers band back in Tasmania, and I've waited way too long to make a lesson for it! It's an old hit and loads of fun to play – get ready to have a blast.

This Deep Blue Something tune is an awesome grower or developer song if you're a beginner guitarist. You can play a simple version to start, then bring in the strumming pattern and embellishments found on the original. We'll look at exactly how to do all this, so grab your guitar, and let's get stuck in. :)

How To Play Breakfast At Tiffany's On Guitar

You only need three chords for the whole song: D, A, and G! And the intro, verse, and riff progressions are identical. The chorus is nearly the same, too, but the order of the chords is different. :)

🎸 Need some extra help with these chords? Check out my Beginner's Grade 1 Course for more details on how to nail these grips. :)

The intro and verse progression is as so: one bar of D (XX0232), half a bar of G (3X0033), then half a bar of A (X02220). Repeat this twice for the intro and eight times for each verse. What about the chorus? Just switch the G and A chords around! Repeat the progression four times for one chorus.

There's a cool little riff in this song too. Figuring out the riff yourself is great ear-training practice, and it's not too tricky! I also encourage you to make up your own riff. If you've never improvised a solo before, this song is a fantastic place to start. Check out my quick demo on the video lesson if you need some inspiration. :)

Breakfast At Tiffany's Guitar Strumming

The real strumming pattern on this song is pretty intense! You can start by strumming once per chord if you're a beginner. Once you're comfortable with that, go for the Old Faithful strumming pattern. During the bars with G and A, I switch on the "+" after 2 (swap G and A for the chorus):

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D   D U   U D
G     A

Don't worry if you hit the open strings when you change from G to A ! Start slow, relax, be fluid, and enjoy the feeling, the moment, and the music! If you need a little time to practice the rhythm, mute your strings until you're comfortable with the pattern. Then add the chords and speed up the tempo. :)

Want your playing to sound real authentic? This is the strumming pattern you'll need!

1  e  +  a  2  e  +  a  3  e  +  a  4  e  +  a
D        U     U  D        U     U  D  U  D  U

The tempo of this song is pretty high. Best to mute the strings and slow the tempo down until you master the pattern. Then you can speed up. Oh, and make sure to keep your hand moving consistently! It keeps moving up and down, even when we're not hitting the strings. :)

🎸 Experiment and Go With The Flow – Master this generic 16th-note pattern to capture the basic essence of the song and play along with the original. With time, you'll find that your strumming will vary naturally. Sometimes you'll add extra strums; sometimes you'll leave them out. It's all fine. Always remember: if it sounds good, it is good.

Breakfast At Tiffany's Extra Bits

If you want to sound more like the original recording, add sus chords and power chords to pump up your guitar sound. These are all embellishments that we cover in Grade 2. :)

For the sus embellishments over D, lift finger 2 off on the "e" of 2, and add it on the next strum. Then add little finger to 1:3 on beat 4 and flick it off on the next strum. And on the A, add finger 4 to 2:3 on beat 4 and flick it off on the next beat. There's a nice bass movement in the chorus too. To mimic this, switch from A to G/B first, then move to standard G, accenting the bass notes over each chord.

💡 Guitar covers don't need to sound exactly like the original recording. Part of the guitar journey involves developing your creativity. Don't be scared to add your own style and make it your own! Just go explore and see what you find. :)

Now it's over to you to go and explore. Start off nice and easy if you're a beginner, and watch how this one grows as you walk the guitar journey. Have loads of fun with Breakfast At Tiffany's, and I'll see you for loads more guitar real soon. :)

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