A Horse with No Name

How to play A Horse with No Name by America on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 2 you play Dm, C, G, Em, F, Am, the shapes the player above shows.

This is a great beginner song because it sits in a steady groove and feels relaxed and spacious. You can focus on clean changes and a consistent pulse instead of lots of busy chord movement, which makes it rewarding to learn quickly.

Most of the chart uses open shapes, so Em, D, A, and G should feel approachable under your fingers. The harder shapes are F#m and Bm, but you may not need them as often. The main change to watch is the opening back-and-forth between Em and D, since that switch sets the feel right away.

Start by looping Em - D very slowly until the move feels automatic, then add the rest of the open shapes one at a time. Once the changes are smooth, play along with the song at a comfortable pace and gradually bring it up to speed. Keep your strumming even and let the chords ring.

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.