Roxanne

How to play Roxanne by The Police on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 3 you play E, Em, D, Bm, Am, C and more, the shapes the player above shows.

Roxanne is a great song to learn because the groove is instantly recognizable and the progression gives you a strong, driving feel. At about 135 BPM, it sits in a lively pocket that rewards clean changes and steady time, so you get a lot of musical payoff from a simple repeating idea.

You can lean on the open shapes G, F, Dm, C, and D, but the harder barre shapes Gm, Cm, D#, A#, and Fm will test your grip and accuracy. The change to watch closely is the opening move from G to Gm and back into F, since that shift sets the sound and can throw off your timing if you rush it.

Start by looping the opening progression slowly, then add the rest of the chart in small chunks until the changes feel automatic. Once your fingers know the barre shapes, practice with a steady pulse, then bring it up to tempo only after each move sounds clean and 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.