Learn "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds on guitar!

Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds is a really fun one to play! What an incredible tune! You know this song from the iconic 80s movie The Breakfast Club, right? :)

It’s also perfect for beginners. You can keep the strumming simple, and you'll only need open chords. While Don't You (Forget About Me) is a great tune, that video clip is just awful… I'm very glad I didn't ever get involved with that fashion!

But ok, back to guitar! Let's look at how to Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds on the acoustic guitar, starting with that classic intro.

Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds – Intro

The intro for Don't You (Forget About Me) has several chords with a single strum on each. We start on D then switch to E. Leave a bar silent, then it’s D to E, followed by C to D in the next bar. I often use the C/G chord (332010), meaning the bass note is now G.

Here’s the rhythm. This is key! Get it right, and people listening will instantly recognise the song.

D     E
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

There’s a silent bar, then we continue with:

D     E         C     D    
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Repeat these four bars twice for the intro. :) Even though we normally play downstrums on beats and upstrums on off-beats, it’s okay to play downstrums here since we only strum twice in each bar. Just make sure you stay in time.

Time for the verse. :)

Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds – Verse

The verse progression is nice and easy: just three chords needed. :) It goes E D A D, and we repeat this four times for one verse. See the strumming below.

A few variations are going on throughout the song, but it's simple enough to memorize them. Writing the sections down might help you learn faster, but playing along with the original recording (or a backing track!) is always the best idea. And your ultimate goal should be to play your songs without reading the chords! :)

Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds – Strumming

It’s crucial you get the rhythm right when playing this Simple Minds song! The intro is unusual, and the strumming pattern changes for the verses.

In the verses, I tend to go for the Old Faithful pattern you're already familiar with. But if you add some extra strums in or leave some out, it doesn’t matter! What’s most important is that you keep your hand moving consistently.

Just a couple more sections and you’re ready to rock Don’t You (Forget About Me)!

Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds – Chorus & Bridge

Good news! The chorus and bridge are easy. The first four bars of the chorus come from the verse: E D A D. Then it changes a little – we play E D A A. After the first chorus, we go to the bridge, which is C C G G; D D A A, all repeated twice.

It’s a great idea to play along with the backing track on my app. You get all the 80s synth sounds that make it authentic. :) But it also sounds great on an acoustic guitar, meaning you can play it solo at a party. People will definitely sing along!

Have loads of fun with Don't You (Forget About Me). Make sure you nail that iconic intro. :) Laters!

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