Learn how to play "Sweet Jane" by Velvet Underground on the guitar!

This classic song, Sweet Jane by Velvet Underground, is a great one song for working on your barre chords and changing between them! In fact, we'll use barre chords for the entire song. :)

💡 Following my guitar lessons? My Intermediate Grades are all about developing your barre chords and so much more!

Your first task is to learn the chord progressions and get comfortable with the chord changes. JustinGuitarTABS helps you learn faster, as you get matching tab, lyrics, and chords to follow along with this tutorial!

🚨 This lesson doesn't teach you the intro because it's mostly guitar effects. They're very hard to emulate, particularly on one guitar!

We'll crack straight into the main guitar part, where the singing starts. Once you're hip with the chords, I'd recommend that you play along with a backing track or even the original record! Sweet Jane has a very distinctive rhythm pattern. Just suck up that laid-back, easy feeling and incorporate it into your playing.

Sweet Jane by Velvet Underground: Verse Chords

We just need four chords for the verse. We’ll play them all as barre chords. :)

The first chord is a D using an A-shape barre chord: X5777X. Finger 1 goes down at 5:5 (string 5, fret 5) and finger 3 barres strings 4 to 2 at fret 7.

🎸 Find the A-shape grip tricky? This is a tough barre chord that takes practice! Here's my guide to A-shape Major barre chords. :)

Then we switch to an A chord played with an E-shape barre chord: 577655. Then we slide this down two frets to a G chord, 355433, before grabbing a Bm with an E shape (799777). The progression finishes with A then D. :) Here’s the rhythm!

D              A     G           Bm    A     D
1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +  1  +  2  +  3  +  4  + 
D        U     U     U D         U     U     U

We miss a lot of downstrums here. On the silent beats, strum the strings, but relax your fretting hand so you get a clicking sound. That’s the sound of muted strings.

Sweet Jane by Velvet Underground: How To Nail The Rhythm

The strumming is the key to making this sound good. It’s crucial you keep your hand moving consistently – downwards on beats, upwards on off-beats, whether you strum on that beat or not. Make sure you don’t stop!

Don’t worry about adding extra strums or missing one or two – the feel is way more important than the exact pattern you play.

Sweet Jane by Velvet Underground: Chorus

Good news – the chorus is simpler than the verse. :) You’ll just need the D, G, and A grips from above. There’s no Bm! Here’s the rhythm.

D                       G              A      
1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +  1  +  2  +  3  +  4  + 
D        U     U  D     D        U     U  D

And that’s pretty much the whole song! You just cycle between the verses and choruses. :)

Sweet Jane by Velvet Underground: Alternate Versions

In researching for this lesson, I came across a few live versions with different chord progressions. Lou Reed sometimes leaves out the Bm in the verses, staying on G for an extra strum. He also changes up the choruses – I’ve seen him play D A G A instead of the original progression.

🤔 It’s a little bit tricky to sing over that groove, especially if you'd like to try and phrase the vocal like Lou Reed does. He's one of the greats!

When learning a song like this, remember that you don't have to copy the singer’s exact phrasing! I suggest you copy Lou Reed’s laid-back vibe but don’t worry too much about the timing of the words. Make it your own. You could even go further and make your own Sweet Jane cover. :)

To repeat, the rhythm is crucial – you need to get it right! Now, grab your guitar and learn how to play Sweet Jane. Happy trails!

Which song lesson should I do next? Suggest and vote on the Request Board. :)