Black Betty

How to play Black Betty by Ram Jam on guitar

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

Black Betty is a great workout if you want a riff-driven rock song that feels urgent and punchy. At about 120 BPM, it pushes you to stay tight and confident, so it is especially rewarding once the groove locks in.

You can lean on the open shapes F, D, E, and C, but the harder barre shapes B, Bm, Fm, and D# will test your grip and clean changes. The opening progression B - F - B - D is the main thing to nail, so keep your switches smooth and make sure each shape rings clearly.

Start by looping the opening progression slowly and counting the pulse evenly. Then practice the barre shapes on their own until they feel natural, and finally put everything together at tempo in short bursts before running the full song.

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.