Africa

How to play Africa by Toto on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 3 you play F#, A#m, Fm, G#, C#, D#m and more, the shapes the player above shows.

This song is a great one to learn because it has a steady, memorable feel and a classic pop-rock groove that stays satisfying from start to finish. You get a smooth, flowing progression that feels familiar quickly, but still keeps you focused on the changes.

You can lean on the open shapes A, E, and D, while the barre shapes C#m, G#m, B, F#m, and D#m add the main challenge. The change to watch most closely is the opening move from A to C#m and back, since it sets the shape of the progression and can expose slow left-hand shifts.

Start by looping the opening progression A - C#m - A - G#m at a slow pace until the switches feel clean. Then add the rest of the chart in small sections, keeping your hand relaxed and your changes even. When that feels solid, bring it up to tempo and aim for smooth, consistent transitions.

Use the play-along above to follow each chord change in time with the music, or learn the shapes first with the chord diagrams below.