A Horse With No Name Guitar Lesson

If you’re into laid-back acoustic tunes, then A Horse With No Name by America should definitely be on your list! In fact, it was one of the first songs I learned, and I still love playing it.

This song is a beautiful example of how you can create a timeless piece using only two chords. It's therefore also very beginner friendly, and won't take long to learn. So, let’s jump back to the 70s and dive into it!

The Chords

Let’s take a look at the (only!) two chords you need to learn to play this song, we'll have to play and E minor and a D6/9. You play these for just one bar each, so the chord chart looks a little like this: | Em | D6/9 |. Those chords look like this:

Your first step should be to build confidence with these two chords. Even though you’re not strumming them yet, you can start by playing a simple strum on beat 1 and practicing along with the song!

The strumming pattern

This pattern is "swung". If you’re not familiar with that term, don’t worry! To keep it simple, just imagine that the “and” you’re counting is slightly “late,” closer to the next beat.

So, here’s an example of the strumming pattern you can use over the chords in Horse With No Name:

As always, the best way to learn is to listen to the song while you practice. Pay attention to all the elements and try counting along with the original track to feel when the chords change. In fact, the more you listen to the original song, the more you can start to "sing" the rhythm pattern.

Extra Details

Once you feel confident with everything above, it’s time to think about dynamics! Dynamics are the highs and lows of a track, and everything in between. It can be as simple as getting louder and quieter in different sections.

In Horse With No Name, on beats 2 and 4 of the rhythm pattern, try aiming for the higher strings and strumming a little louder. This will really help accent the right beats to make it sound more like the original song.

Additionally, on beat 2 of the D6/9 chord, try adding a little “chop” for some extra colour! Not sure what a chop is, check out the "x" on this diagram:

This might feel challenging at first, so take your time with it. My first focus would always be to check that we're playing in time, with a beat and keeping the right arm moving. Second to that, and only once that is clear, can we start to think about a subtle dynamic shift like this.

In Conclusion

The real power in this song comes with the strumming pattern and dynamics. So once you have the chords nailed, really focus on getting that beat as close to the original as you can. Add this song to a playlist to ensure that you play it over and over again as you continue to progress on the guitar. Don't forget that if you're not sure how to progress, or what to do next… Sign up for our Guitar Club if you haven't already, and get your pathway of learning!