Bad Dreams

How to play Bad Dreams by Teddy Swims on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 3 you play Em, A, F, G, Am, the shapes the player above shows.

This song is a great beginner pick because the progression is simple, steady, and easy to lock into at about 120 BPM. You get a strong, moody feel without needing a lot of fast changes, so it is a good one for building confidence while keeping the groove smooth.

You only need one open shape here, C, while Gm, G#, A#, and Cm are the barre shapes that take more hand strength. The main change to watch is moving cleanly between the open C and the barre chords in the opening progression, especially when the shape shifts back and forth.

Start by learning each chord shape one at a time, then loop the opening progression slowly until the changes feel automatic. After that, bring it up to tempo in small steps and focus on keeping every chord ringing clearly before you worry about speed.

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.