Learn how to play "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac on acoustic guitar!

You've asked for it, so here it is!

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac is packed with awesome guitar parts, courtesy of Lindsey Buckingham. What a player! This acoustic guitar arrangement will be loads of fun to explore! And yes, we'll tune our guitar down to Double Drop D! :)

💡 Following my guitar lessons? This song from Intermediate Grade 6, definitely beyond the beginner stages. If you're new to guitar but really want to play more difficult songs, check out this guide.

The original recording contains many different guitar parts. This version is a hybrid of them all. It doesn't have absolutely everything you'll find in the original, but it's pretty damn close. And it sounds awesome!

Before You Start

Before starting, I'd encourage you to mindfully listen to the track. Listen to the whole song through the left speaker, then listen again through the right speaker. That makes it loads easier to clearly distinguish between the many guitar parts.

When learning to play songs like The Chain, it's essential to understand how all the layers weave together.

I'd also recommend you do a bit of transcribing yourself! Buckingham does change the patterns at various points in the song. Note down your findings so you don't forget! You'll also find bits that I haven't been able to squeeze into this version. :)

💡 Not sure how to get started? Check out what I have to say about music notation and guitar playing.

The patterns we're about to explore aren't the same every time. You'll need to use your ears to get the right sounds.

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac: Capo + Tuning

This lesson teaches you The Chain in its original Double Drop D tuning. That means you'll need to tune the two outside strings of your guitar down by one tone. It seems that Fleetwood Mac play this without the capo nowadays, but if you're playing along with the Rumours version, you'll need your capo on the second fret.

🎤 Singing this song? Leaving off the guitar capo will probably make things easier for you, especially if you're a guy!

Whether you use the capo or not, make sure you're in Double Drop D tuning!

How to Play The Chain by Fleetwood Mac

We learn how to play this Fleetwood Mac's classic bar by bar, learning the fretting hand and then the picking hand. Most of the time, the hard work is in the fingerpicking!

The chords are not particularly difficult. A few may be a tad awkward, but it's not the hardest part of The Chain! The hardest part is nailing the Travis Picking, where the thumb moves between the thickest string and usually the fourth string.

🚨 If you're not familiar with Travis Picking, check out this quickstart lesson full of tips to help you learn faster!

Your first challenge is to keep a consistent rhythm while practicing the pattern on its own! You should definitely learn it one bar at a time. Use the video lesson chapters to navigate between them. And, of course, tabs are available on-screen.

🎶 You can also get tabs, chords, and lyrics to follow along with my The Chain tutorial! But your ultimate goal is to memorize the patterns and chord sequences.

So, get yourself in Double Drop D tuning. Let's get stuck in and learn how to play The Chain on the acoustic guitar.

Highlights

There's a bit of silence in the first bar! It doesn't happen all the time, mostly in the intro. What's the best way of knowing when to do that? Listening to the original Fleetwood Mac record!
You'll need to hammer on many times during this song. Improve your finger strength with this exercise!
If you want to nail The Chain, you must keep your thumb moving consistently when fingerpicking. To do that, practice section by section! The rest shouldn't be too difficult.
When it comes to the verse, we'll learn it in a way that makes sense to me as an arrangement, but you should definitely explore beyond that!

Feel free to arrange it however you like! If you're doing a cover, it's up to you to find an arrangement you enjoy. Find what works for you!

💡 James Taylor is one of my favorites, really one of my all-time favorite guitar players. But he plays chords in ways that don't work for my fingers at all. So even though I love his guitar work, I won't play like him. It just doesn't work.

So, feel free to make your own arrangement using my The Chain tutorial. And if you want to play and sing along with it, don't forget to automate the guitar first. The Travis Picking is really cool, but it does require some practice. Repetition is key.

💡 When playing Travis Picking, some palm muting might help you out!

Remember to practice the guitar real slow – you don't want to get it wrong! Once you automate it when playing slow, it'll be pretty easy to speed up. Have loads of fun with The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. What a tune!

Get JustinGuitarTabs and have chords, tabs, and lyrics to follow along with my The Chain lesson!