Learn How to Play "You and Me" by Neil Young on the Acoustic Guitar

Let’s check out how to play You And Me by Neil Young. This is one of my all-time favorite Neil Young songs, and it sounds lovely on the guitar. The parts are beautiful and packed with trademark Neil Young tricks. :)

We’ll check out all the chords, embellishments and the lovely chorus riff. Let’s go!

Drop D Guitar Tuning

You And Me by Neil Young is in Drop D tuning. Just tune your thickest string down one tone, and you'll be in Drop D. Remember, you can use the fourth string as a reference.

🚨 Still afraid of altered tunings? No need to be! Check my Open Tuning Basics lesson. ;)

Hold a standard open D chord and strum all six strings - they're all chord tones. You should hear a lovely D chord with rich bass notes. :) Ready? Let's explore the main points of You And Me.

You And Me by Neil Young - Guitar Chords

The intro is full of lovely triads, legato playing and embellishments. You’ll need three Major triad shapes and a few open chords. :) Triads are like mini barre chord grips, and it really helps to see them as part of their parent barre chord.

The verse progression has an unusual chord. At least it looks unusual because we’re playing it in Drop D form. It’s a Bb, and it’s pretty much the only “Drop D” chord in the song!

💡 Triad Shapes - Learn the three essential Major triad shapes on the thinnest strings and how to move them around the neck. These are crucial for You And Me!

What’s even stranger is that we keep the high e string open over the Bb. This isn’t a chord tone, but it creates some nice harmonic tension. Just don’t accent it. :) You’ll also need a standard Gm grip without the bass note on string 6. Another strange grip!

The chorus is classic Neil - simple ideas with a twist! You’ll find a nice little riff in there too. The rhythm for it is a little tricky, so make sure you listen to the song loads. That way, you’ll know what it sounds like in your musical imagination, and you can then try to find those sounds on the instrument.

The chords also change on beat 4 on the second bar, a strange time for a chord change! Another key part of this song is the rhythm and feel. Get it right, and you'll sound just like Neil Young.

You And Me by Neil Young - Strumming Pattern & Groove

Neil Young’s strumming is very consistent. To play You And Me, we'll mostly use our thumb for downstrums and the first finger for upstrums. The first finger will sometimes target individual notes if a note needs an accent.

💡The key is to keep your hand moving consistently, just like regular strumming. No stops!

Your hand should feel loose, so you can't do it with tension. The fingers get tangled up into strings if you go too hard, so look for delicacy.

We won’t talk about the accented strums here - it’s super complicated to explain which are accented and which aren’t! Instead, learn the strumming pattern from the video as a basic framework, then get the chord sequence right.

Once you've mastered those, it's time to listen to the original recording and copying it as much of it as you want to. :) You don’t need to accent the strums as he did, but it’s not a bad idea. Neil is a master of groove!

Take it easy, and be delicate with You And Me. The strumming should feel soft - don't be too loud with it. :)

Love Neil Young like me? :) Check out loads more Neil Young guitar lessons!