November Rain

How to play November Rain by Guns N' Roses on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 2 you play A, D, B, Bm, E, C#m and more, the shapes the player above shows.

November Rain is a big, dramatic ballad that feels rewarding to play because every chord change can sound wide and emotional. At about 120 BPM, you get room to let the song breathe while still keeping the pulse steady, so it feels powerful rather than rushed.

You will move between open shapes like E and the harder barre shapes like B, C#, F#, D#m, and G#m. The main thing to watch is the shift into C# and back to B in the opening progression, since that change can expose any tension in your fretting hand.

Start by looping B - E - C# - B slowly until each shape rings cleanly. Then add the next chord changes one at a time, keeping your hand relaxed and your transitions small. Once that feels solid, bring the tempo up in stages until you can play the full progression smoothly.

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.