Smooth Criminal

How to play Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 7 you play F, D, E, C, Dm, A# and more, the shapes the player above shows.

This song is a great pick if you want a tight, high-energy groove with a sharp, driving feel. It sits at about 120 BPM, so it pushes you forward without dragging, and the advanced level makes it satisfying once the rhythm locks in.

You can start with mostly open shapes, but the harder barre shapes will test your grip and accuracy. Watch the move from C to A to B and back to C - that change is the one to clean up first, because it sets the feel for the rest of the chart.

Practice the opening progression slowly and loop it until each change sounds even. Then raise the tempo in small steps, keeping your strums steady and your fretting hand relaxed. Once the shape changes feel automatic, run the full song from start to finish.

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.