🎸 Learn to Play “Born in the U.S.A.” – Chords, Strumming & Practice Guide
Want to confidently strum your way through “Born in the U.S.A.” as your first ever full song?
Struggling to keep chord changes simple and steady?
Looking for an easy system so you can play along from start to finish?
You’re in the right place!
This page doesn’t give you the lyrics or a full chord/lyric sheet like you’d find on other sites — but it does give you something better:
A step-by-step plan to actually learn and play the song the way I teach my students.
✅ What You’ll Learn Here
- The two chords used in the song
- The easiest chord switch possible (perfect for beginners)
- How to strum with simple downstrokes and emotion
- A 4 + 4 bar progression you can repeat for the whole song
- Counting and practice tricks to make it all click
🎶 CHORDS USED IN “Born in the U.S.A.”
This song is extra special — it uses just two chords:
- E major
- Asus2 (a super-easy version of A that keeps switching simple)
👉 Here’s the trick: keep your index finger down the whole time.
Just move your middle and ring finger over by one string each to switch between the two shapes.
This way, you’ll go back and forth smoothly without feeling lost.
🪕 STRUMMING PATTERN
We’re keeping it dead simple:
All downstrokes.
But here’s the fun part — some strums are stronger and some are softer. That lets you start exploring dynamics and emotion, even though your strumming motion stays simple.
- Try emphasizing beats 2 and 4 for that classic driving feel.
- Or alternate “small-big-small-big” downstrokes for each measure.
If that feels tricky, don’t worry — just keep steady downstrokes for now. The groove will come with time.
🔁 CHORD PROGRESSION OVERVIEW
The whole song is just two blocks repeated:
E | E | E | E
A(sus2)| A(sus2)| A(sus2)| A(sus2)
That’s 4 bars of E, then 4 bars of A (or Asus2).
Count out loud like this to stay on track:
1 2 3 4, 2 2 3 4, 3 2 3 4, 4 2 3 4This helps you feel how many measures have gone by without getting lost.
📝 Practice Guide (No Lyrics Required)
Step 1 – Strum four downstrokes per measure:
E E E E
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Step 2 – After 4 bars, switch to A (or Asus2) and repeat the same thing.
Step 3 – Once it feels smooth, add the small/large downstroke feel to bring the rhythm to life.
Step 4 – Loop the whole thing, and you’ve got the entire song!
📌 A Note on Lyrics
This lesson focuses on playing the music by ear and memory.
You won’t find lyrics or chord sheets here. Instead, play along with the video and you’ll hear how everything lines up. That’s how real musicians train their ears!
🚀 Next Steps
By following the video and practice structure above, you’ll soon be strumming through “Born in the U.S.A.” with confidence.
If you want to take your guitar skills to the next level, master chords & strumming and more, consider checking out my All-Access Pass!
⚠️ Disclaimer: This tutorial is for educational purposes and personal practice only. All rights to the original composition belong to their respective copyright holders. This page does not include or distribute lyrics or official sheet music.
