Three Little Birds Guitar Lesson

If you're a beginner then you will want to skip further down the page, where we'll be tackling the open chord version of the track. We have a separate video for you as well where I play and walk through the beginner's version… So you have everything you need to nail it!

As for the core version of the track, which I teach as it's played on the recording, I would describe this as an intermediate-level song. I say that because it uses the CAGED system in a variety of shapes, and has some very cool embellishments based around those! So, no matter where you're at in your guitar journey, this song has something for you! Let's dive in.

Three Little Birds Chorus

We'll get started with the verse section of the track. The most important initial element to grasp is how to play the core two chords with the reggae rhythm! The chords, if we start with that, are | A | A | D | A | - So as you can see, pretty simple! We're using the E shape CAGED chord (which is your basic barre chord shape), but we're only using the top 4 strings of the chord. This is because that reggae back beat is very much tuned in with the sound of the accented hi-hat, which is a relatively high-pitched tone. We therefore don't want or need to hit lower strings as that will only cloud the crisp sound we are after.

So, if we take a look at those chord shapes visually, we can see that it's the same shape moved from the 5th fret (A) to the 10th fret (D). We also have a relatively simple rhythm pattern to work with over these chord changes:

Your first task then is to try and combine these two elements. I would highly recommend trying it over a drum pattern to lock in the main downstroke hits. You also need to play the whole thing in a staccato fashion, which essentially means short and sharp hits. In practice that translates to releasing the pressure just after you play the chord so that it doesn't sustain!

The Verse

As we move from the Chorus (which is also the intro) into the verse we have a lot more chord changes to deal with. We are ow playing one chord per beat, and the core progression is: | A | E | A | D | A | E | D | A | - Which serves up the E major chord. The good news is you can simply play the same chord shape we've already learnt as an E major. You simply need to move the shape up to the 12th fret! The only exception to this is the final chord which is the C shape. That would look like this:

However, if we want to be exact with the song, we will need to learn a very cool part! This part is essentially embellishments over the E shape CAGED chords, and if you remember it like this, you can use it any time you play this shape chord. We're working with intervals of a 6th, and end up with a lick something like this:

The main thing to remember here is that the embellishment directly relates to the chord. So when we are playing the A major chord, the lick uses the 3rd and root for the first 6th interval, then the 4th and 2nd, then the 5th and 3rd… All to show that we are using the notes from the major scale. When you move it up to D and then E you are transposing the intervals too to fit on those keys! Here's a diagram to demonstrate this over the A chord:

Three Little Birds Beginners Lesson

For the easier version, the structure is exactly the same. In general, when doing beginner versions we don't look to alter the structure of a song or the main harmony, just simplify the chords and rhythms that are used. That way you can still get that awesome buzz of playing along to a whole song that you love, and it will still sound great! You're learning so much in this process that it is an essential part of your guitar development.

So, if we start with the verse, we are playing the same progression: | A | A | D | A | just using open chords instead. We also have the same chorus progression, which is | A | E | A | D | A | E | D | A |. Here is a visual of those chord progressions with the chord boxes:

The tricky part for any beginner is getting this reggae rhythm in sync with the band! There are two ways to approach that, one using 8th notes and the other using 16th notes. Below you can see a diagram for both, and the core difference is how your right hand moves. The 8th note pattern has the hits landing on your upstroke, whilst the 16th note pattern has the hits landing on the downstroke.

Play along with the band!

Finally, if you would like to play along with us, we have played the beginner and intermediate versions above! A huge thanks to my bandmates Camille and Harrison for being totally awesome as well! Hopefully, you enjoy working with this track and playing along with us. Remember as always that you can sign up to our Guitar Club to get full access to your learning pathway and all of our courses, if you haven't already that is!