🎸 Learn to Play “Country Roads” – Chords, Strumming & Practice Guide
Want to confidently strum your way through Country Roads?
Think it’s just the same 4 chords repeated the whole time?
Looking for a breakdown that actually helps you play it from start to finish?
You’re in the right place!
This page doesn’t include the lyrics or a printable chord sheet – but it gives you something better:
A clear step-by-step plan to learn the full song with confidence.
🔁 CHORD PROGRESSION OVERVIEW
The song is built from three main sections: verse, chorus, and bridge. Each one uses the same core chords, but with different progressions and timing. Let’s walk through them one at a time.
🔷 VERSE
The verse progression uses the same chords as the chorus, but they’re in a different order, and there’s a tricky timing change to watch for. Let’s break it down!
Start by practicing this first part with downstrokes only, so you can get the chord order and rhythm in your hands:
| G | G | Em | Em |
| D | D | C | G | G |🧠 Watch out: That extra bar of G at the end only happens the first time through. When you repeat the verse later in the song, you leave that extra G out. I show you how to count that properly in the video.
🎯 Practice tip: Loop the full verse progression and count aloud until it feels natural. Then bring in your strumming pattern.
🟡 CHORUS
This is where we get the classic 1–5–6–4 chord progression that shows up in hundreds of songs. The cool part is — this one is slowed down, so you have time to really feel the groove.
Each chord gets two full measures here, which makes it a perfect opportunity to practice consistency in your strumming.
Try this with downstrokes only:
| G | % | D | % |
| Em | % | C | % |🎯 Try this: Once you’re comfy with the switches, try adding your full strumming pattern. Start slow, and once you can stay in time, loop this section to build endurance and accuracy.
Once we’ve played our classic 1-5-6-4 chord progression, we get ANOTHER classic one to finish off the Chorus. The 1-5-4-1 progression, like you’d find in “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan.
| G | % | D | % |
| C | % | G | % |🟥 BRIDGE
This part shifts the feel of the song completely. We’re still using familiar chords – but there’s one spot that sneaks in a surprise F chord, which can be tricky if you’re not expecting it.
The basic chunks of this chord progression are excellent for ear training.
- Notice we hold on to the G chord at the end of the first line for two measures. This creates a feeling of being settled… like we’re home.
- Then at the end of the 2nd line, we hold onto the D chord for 2 measures. This gives a feeling of being away from home because in the key, D is the 5 chord, which carries the most tension.
| Em | D | G | % |
| C | G | D | % |Now here’s the trickiest moment of the whole song — the quick switch from Em → F → C → G, with just one measure each.
| Em | F | C | G |
🎯 Pro tip: Loop this Em–F–C–G sequence on its own. Play it super slow and use downstrokes only at first. This change throws off a lot of players!
🚀 Next Steps
By following the video and using this structure, you’ll soon be playing Country Roads from start to finish—with feeling and confidence.
🎯 Ready to take the next step? Explore the Full Beginner Course in 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.
