Learn how to play "Matilda" by Harry Styles on the acoustic guitar!

Matilda by Harry Styles is very interesting. The verses are pretty easy, but the intro has a tricky fingerstyle part. Singing along is a real challenge; its tuning means your usual open chords won't work to play this song! So, let's start this tutorial by retuning your guitar and better understanding what's going on there! :)

Matilda by Harry Styles: Tuning

We'll need to retune the guitar to what we'll call D6 tuning to play this song:

D A D F# B D

We tune the two E strings to Ds and the G string to an F#. Use string 4 as a reference for the D notes. A tuner also works fine.

It's probably best to use a tuner to tune the G string down a semitone to F#, but you also have the note F# at 4:4 (string 4, fret 4) as a reference.

💡 Don't be afraid of altered tunings! D6 tuning is double drop D tuning but with the G string tuned down one semitone. Check out my lesson on Double Drop D to learn more. :)

How to play the intro for Matilda by Harry Styles

The intro uses a beautiful fingerstyle guitar part. A lot is going on, but it sounds wicked when you get it right. Let's ensure your picking hand is in the right place – the thumb plays the notes on string 6, finger 1 picks string 5, finger 2 plays 4, and finger 3 picks the harmonics on strings 2 and 3.

All four bars are pretty similar. Here are the rhythm and notes for the first one:

1 + a 2 + 3 + 4 +

6 5:2s5:4 4:0 6 2:7* 6 3:7* 6 (* means harmonic)

Let's look at this in more detail. We start by picking open string 6 with the thumb on beat 1. On the "and," place your first finger on the second fret of the fifth string. Pick it, then slide it up to fret 5 on the "a" of 1.

Now we get to the great part: we play harmonics at 2:7 and 3:7 with finger 4 of the fretting hand. Keeping finger 1 down, we lightly rest finger 4 on string 2 above fret 7. Pick string 2, and you should hear an open, airy sound. That's a harmonic!

So on beats 3 and 4, we play harmonics at 2:7, then 3:7. On the "and" of beats 2, 3, and 4, lightly pluck string 6.

💡 Inspired by the sound of the harmonics in this tune? I've got a whole module dedicated to harmonics that will help you deeply explore this technique. :)

Bar 2 is almost identical. Finger 1 plays 6:5 on beat 1 and stays there. And on "+ and" after 1, we pluck the open string 5 and hammer on at fret 4 with finger 2. The harmonics are at 3:7 and 4:7 this time. The following bar is the same as bar 2, except we put finger 3 on 6:7 on beat 1 (instead of finger 1 on 6:5), and the harmonics are on 2:7 and 3:7. After this, we repeat bar 2.

The intro lasts eight bars in total, so repeat this sequence twice. On beat 3 of the final bar, use finger 4 to play harmonics at 2:7, 3:7, and 4:7 simultaneously. This is like a mini barre, except you hover the finger above the strings. Strum the three strings, and you should hear a harmonic chord! Let this lovely sound ring out for the rest of the bar without playing other notes.

🎸Check out JustinGuitar Tabs to get verified chords, lyrics, and tabs for Matilda and hundreds of other songs! You can get started with a free trial. :)

Troubleshooting

The fretting-hand work is pretty tricky with the mixture of harmonics, open strings, and fretted notes. For instance, in bar 1, finger 1 needs to be nice and round, so it doesn't mute any open strings. The same thing goes with finger 3 when you play 6:7.

To give finger 2 space to play the hammer-on in bar 2, you'll need to place finger 1 further from the fret than usual. Press a little harder to get the note, and make sure it isn't touching string 5.

This guitar part is tricky. It was easy to figure out, but it took lots of short chunks of practice over a couple of weeks to nail it. Learn it slowly and correctly, and then you'll have no trouble speeding it up. :)

Matilda by Harry Styles: Playing the Verses and Choruses

Though the intro is tricky, the verses and choruses are simple to play. Here's the picking pattern.

Beats    1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +

Strings  6  5  4  5  3  5  4  5

Fingers T  1  2  1  3  1  2  1

This sequence is the same throughout the verses and choruses; all we change are the bass notes on string 6. You have to automate this if you want to sing and play together. The vocal is tricky, and you have to change bass notes too. You don't want to be thinking about the picking!

🎶 Sing and Play Together! It takes a bit of practice to be able to sing over a complex guitar piece. Check out my 10-step method for singing and playing at the same time.

The verse has four chords: 0000XX, 5000XX, 7000XX, then back to 5000XX. Each chord lasts one beat, and the verse has four progressions. You might like to add the harmonic chord on beat 3 of the final bar like you did in the chorus.

The chorus also lasts 16 bars, with the same progression as the verse. However, on the second and fourth reps, we go to 9000XX instead of 7000XX.

We've got almost all the parts, so how do they fit together? The structure of this song is pretty standard: intro, verse, chorus, intro, verse, chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus. We best check out how to play Matilda's bridge. :)

Matilda by Harry Styles: Bridge

There are some unusual chord grips in here due to the D6 tuning. We’ll need GMaj7 (55557X), D (00003X), F#m7 (2X4322), E7 (2X0204), and F#7 (4X4422). Play GMaj7 using a barre with finger 1 and finger 4 on 2:7.

The grip I use for the F#7 chord is tricky. I play the notes on fret 4 with fingers 1, 2, and 3 and barre fret 2 with finger 2. If it's too stretchy, try simplifying it. :)

The bridge sequence is:

GMaj7, D, GMaj7, D;

F#m7, GMaj7, ( | D F#m7|, GMaj7) x2,

|D F#7|, |GMaj7 E7|, |DMaj7 F#m7|, GMaj7

☑️ Cover Matilda - make it your own! This song is great for adding your own twist to it. I definitely suggest you experiment with the bridge. What I’ve shown you is a guitar version of a piano part, and you can interpret this section in another way.

There's a nice riff over the fourth and fifth GMaj7 chords. We play the note under little finger (2:7), then slide that finger up one fret while keeping the bar down. Slide it back to 2:7, then take it off to reveal 2:5. Finally, put the pinkie down on 3:8. Strum the chord up to string 2 to get the first note, then pick the others individually.

The final chorus then goes GMaj7, |D, F#m7| GMaj7, |D F#m7|. Repeat this four times, then finish on |F#m7 E|. I usually finish on D on beat 1 to close the song.

And that's all! Have loads of fun with Matilda on the acoustic guitar. Experiment on your own, and see if you can find a unique take on the song. Harry Styles is a top musician!

Up for more? Check out my lesson on how to play As It Was by Harry Styles!