Learn how to play the two-chord classic “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton on guitar… I’ll show you the chords, the rhythm, and some secret transition chords to really make it shine.
How to Play “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton
Alright, “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton. It’s only a two-chord song—it’s A and B minor—but I’m going to show you a few extra little chords you can put in there on some transitions and stuff to kind of help spice it up a little bit and and really bring it to life, especially if you’re playing it by yourself or something like that and you just want to add something extra to it.
First Things First: The Chords
Let’s talk about the chords. If you don’t know them already, we’ve got an A major and a B minor.
The A Major Chord
I’m playing it with one finger because we might throw in like a sus4 or something like that, so it’s the second fret of the D, G, and B string. Maybe you play it with three fingers, maybe you already play it with one finger. If you don’t already play it with one finger, you want to try to get better at that—that’s going to make it easier. You can play it with the three fingers though, no problem.
The B Minor Barre Chord
The second chord is a B minor. This is a barre chord; it might be new to you. If it is, take some time and work on it.
- You’re going to bar the second fret with your first finger from the A string down.
- Put your third finger on the fourth fret of the D string.
- Put your pinky on the fourth fret of the G string.
- Your middle finger is going to go right on the third fret of the B string.
And you’re going to strum through. You can strum all the way to the E string, too, if you want, but the main strings you’ve got to strum are the A, D, G, and B. Okay, and that is a B minor. If this is a new chord to you, if barre chords are new, practice with that. Start with just your first finger and your third finger and start with just that power chord, and then slowly build it. Add the pinky and then add the second finger, and then over time that chord will kind of come together.
Understanding the Rhythm and Timing
The timing of the song is like a 6/8 time. Okay, so this might be new to you. Most common songs, rock and country and stuff, are 4/4 time, so the rhythm of the song would be four beats per measure. 6/8 is kind of more waltzy; we have like groups of three. We count to six for every measure, it’s basically all it means. So: one-two-three-four-five-six, one-two-three-four-five-six.
The Strumming Pattern
So, chords aside, we’re going to do a down, down, down-up, down, down, down-up.
So it’ll be one, two, three-and, four, five, six-and. One, two, three-and, four, five, six-and.
You can start by just practicing down strumming on one, two, three, and four, five, six… one, two, three, four, five, six… just to kind of get the ball rolling. And then over time, once you get comfortable with that where you can do it no problem, incorporate that full rhythm where you add those little up-strums in there.
The Song Structure: The 8-Measure Progression
Now, we have eight measures total.
- Two measures for A
- Four measures for B minor
- Two more measures for A
And that’s the whole song. That progression just repeats itself over and over again, and it’s the same for the verse, the chorus, and over the guitar solos—everything. That is the chord progression. So once you get it, you’ll have it, and you’ll be able to play the entire song.
So let’s play the chords in the order that they’re going to go in. First things first, two measures of A: one-two-three-four-five-six, one-two-three-four-five-six. Then B minor for four measures, then back to A for two measures, and start it over.
Spicing It Up: Adding Extra Flavor
Now you’re ready to be able to play the song. But let’s say if you were playing this by yourself, you didn’t have a full band and you kind of wanted to throw a little something in there just to spice it up a little bit, right? So there’s a couple of different chords that I like to play when I’m doing this song to kind of add a little something-something to it.
Add a Sus4 to Your A Chord
One of them is I’ll add a sus4 in there with my third finger on the B string sometimes. Right there to one, two, three-and, four-and, five-six-and. On “four, five, and six” of the measure, that sounds cool.
The B-flat Diminished Transition
Another thing I’ll do sometimes is right before I go to my B minor, on the last count of the previous measure, I’ll throw in like a B-flat diminished. And man, that is such a cool, soulful chord transition. This can be tricky to do if you’ve never done this, especially if you’re new to diminished chords. This chord here is:
- A string: 4th fret (second finger)
- D string: 5th fret (third finger)
- G string: 3rd fret (first finger)
- B string: 5th fret (pinky)
The Chromatic Chord Run
Another thing I like to do is kind of do like a little chromatic chord run where I go maybe C# minor, C minor to B minor. That sounds kind of cool too when you’re in the middle of the B, if you’re on measure four halfway through the B minor chord.
Building Tension Over the B minor
One more thing that I like to do on it is at the very end, sometimes that low E string over that B minor really helps tie in and build up some extra tension. Maybe even do a B minor 7 and pick up on the pinky, over E. That really helps add some really cool flavor to it as well and it really helps build up the tension for that resolve on the A.
So I hope you enjoyed this. This is a cool way to do it if you’re playing it by yourself, you know, and you just want to add some extra stuff to it and make it a little more fun and push yourself to do something more than just the two chords and expand your horizons a little bit.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the two main chords in “Tennessee Whiskey”?
The song is only two chords: A major and B minor. - What is the time signature of the song?
It’s in a 6/8 time signature, which gives it a “waltzy” feel. You count six beats per measure (one-two-three-four-five-six). - What is the strumming pattern?
The pattern is down, down, down-up, down, down, down-up, which corresponds to the count: 1, 2, 3-and, 4, 5, 6-and. - What is the chord progression for the entire song?
The whole song follows an 8-measure progression: two measures of A major, four measures of B minor, and then two more measures of A major. This repeats for the verses, choruses, and solos. - The B minor barre chord is hard. Any tips?
Yes. If barre chords are new to you, start by just playing a power chord shape (barring the second fret with your first finger and using your third finger on the fourth fret of the D string). Then slowly add the other fingers (pinky and middle) over time as you get more comfortable. - How can I make the song sound more interesting if I’m playing it alone?
You can add several “spice” chords:- Add a sus4 to your A major chord on the last few beats of the measure.
- Use a B-flat diminished chord as a quick transition right before switching to the B minor.
- Play a chromatic walk-down (C# minor to C minor) in the middle of the B minor section before going back to B minor.
- Play the low E string over the B minor chord to build tension before resolving back to A.
