Give Me One Reason

How to play Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 4 you play D, A, G, Dm, Am, Gm, the shapes the player above shows.

Give Me One Reason is a great song to learn because it has a steady, confident groove and a clear repeating feel that sits well under your hands. You can focus on locking into the rhythm and letting the changes do the work, which makes it rewarding even at a moderate tempo.

The chart uses barre shapes for the main chords, so your left hand needs to stay relaxed and accurate. The opening move from F# to C# to B and back to F# is the change to watch out for, since it asks you to shift cleanly without losing the pulse.

Start by practicing the opening progression slowly, making each shape ring cleanly before you add speed. Then loop the same move until the changes feel automatic, and finally bring it up to tempo while keeping the rhythm even and controlled.

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.