Life is a Highway

How to play Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 5 you play G#, A, F, C, G, Am and more, the shapes the player above shows.

Life is a Highway is a great one to learn because it has a driving, upbeat feel that stays energetic from start to finish. At about 120 BPM, it pushes you to keep a steady groove while still sounding relaxed and confident.

Most of the song sits on open shapes like D, F, C, Dm, G, and Am, with a few harder barre shapes like C#, A#, Cm, and Gm mixed in. The change to watch is the opening move from C# to D to A# to F, since that shift can feel quick until your hands memorize it.

Start by looping the opening progression slowly and cleanly, then add the other open shapes one at a time. After that, work the barre shapes separately, then reconnect everything at tempo. Once the changes feel smooth, play along with the full track and focus on keeping the rhythm even.

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.