LEARN HOW TO PLAY "SHAKE IT OFF" ON GUITAR!

In this lesson, we’ll learn to play Shake It Off by Taylor Swift on guitar. I admire her pop songwriting, and this song demonstrates her skill. There are only three chords, yet it’s still fabulous because of how she structures the dynamics.

Shake It Off is the perfect example of how a pop tune works, so we’ll explore a few things that you can apply to many pop songs!

If you’re starting out on guitar, keep things simple. You can sound wicked with basic chords and strumming! But there’s lots for advancing beginners and intermediate players to check out too.

🌠 Make It Your Own: As always, I encourage you to get creative with the rhythm and chords. This is your cover of Shake It Off, so play it your way. :)

Enough chat - let’s play.

Shake It Off by Taylor Swift: Chord Progression

As we know, there's only one chord progression in the entire song:

Am, Am, C, C;
G, G, G, G.

Check out the Chord Progression chapter for a chord-vocal demo with simple strumming. :)

💡 Need to learn these three essential open chords? Check out the chord charts below this text, or head to Grade 1 of my Beginner’s Course for detailed lessons on each.

Shake It Off by Taylor Swift: Strumming Patterns By Level

If you’re a beginner guitarist, start by playing one strum per chord. This helps you get used to the chord changes, tempo, and phrasing. Jamming along with Taylor Swift also helps. :)

This pattern is a bit dry, so once you feel comfortable with it, practice four downstrums to the bar. This gives it some more groove.

And we can use a simple trick to spice it up and make it sound authentic: accents on the backbeat. On beats 1 and 3, we hit the bass notes, then we strum all six strings on beats 2 and 4, meaning these beats are louder. Can you hear that you sound groovier already? :)

🔥 Master Your Dynamics: Dynamics are so important for solo guitarists that I made a whole course on them! Check out my Strumming Dynamics course to transform your sound.

The thing is, this rhythm pattern also gets boring after a while. Listen to me play in the video! It just gets repetitive and boring for the listener. And I see guitarists doing this all the time - playing one pattern over and over again! The trick is to vary the dynamics. This will completely transform your playing. :)

Vary Your Dynamics on Guitar

You can hear the changes in volume and rhythm on the Taylor Swift original - let's mimic them. The first eight bars of verse 1 are quiet and simple, and the next eight are louder and fuller. The volume builds in the pre-chorus, leading to the chorus, which is full and loud. One way to mimic these shifts as a solo guitarist is to use multiple rhythm patterns and chord voicings.

For verse 1, use power chords and a palm-mute pattern, strumming quietly. The authentic pattern is tricky to sing over, so you can simplify it by playing all-down eighth notes with accents on 2 and 4. Check out the Power Chords chapter for all the details. :) You could also try strumming once per bar to keep it really sparse.

💣 Power Chords: these are an awesome tool for varying your dynamics and are pretty easy if you know your open chords. Check out my Ultimate Beginners Guide to Power Chords to learn all the essentials.

In the pre-chorus, use the same pattern but bring the volume up, and do a pop-stop by muting your guitar strings for the last two bars. You'll find the pop-stop in hundreds of songs - it works! As for the chorus, play Am, C, and G as open chords and strum all six strings, accenting the backbeat. Can you hear the shift in dynamics? If you can, your audience will too.

In verse 2, drop it right down for the first eight bars, with one strum per bar, then move to power chords in the second eight. This huge drop after the first chorus is another typical pop trick!

This awareness of dynamics will totally transform your playing - I promise. If you don't believe me, record yourself playing. ;)

How to Practice

Let’s sum up everything we’ve covered here and look at how to practice Shake It Off:

The chords are Am, Am, C, C, G, G, G, G for the entire tune.
Start real simple with one strum per bar, jam with the Taylor Swift original, and get used to the chord changes.
Move on to four downstrums per bar with bass notes on beats 1 and 3 and strums on 2 and 4.
Practice eight downstrums per bar with accents on 2 and 4, palm muting, and power chords.
Put it all together, choosing different strumming patterns for the various sections, making sure the choruses are loudest. Incorporate the pop-stop and the verse 2 drop.
Once you’re happy with the structure, follow my 10-step guide to singing and playing at the same time.

Wow, there’s a lot to explore here. Time to practice! Have loads of fun with this huge hit.

🔥 Are you a Swifty? Head to my Taylor Swift artist section to learn all her awesome hits on guitar.