The Reason

How to play The Reason by Hoobastank on guitar

The Reason is a great beginner song because it has a steady, emotional feel and a repeating progression that lets you settle into the groove quickly. You can focus on clean changes and even timing instead of chasing a lot of different parts.

You’ll spend most of the song moving between open shapes and a few barre shapes. E, A, and D are the easier grips, while C#m, B, and C# will take more hand strength. The main change to watch is the back-and-forth between E and C#m in the opening progression, since that shift comes up right away and needs to stay smooth.

Start by looping E - C#m - E - C#m slowly until the movement feels automatic. Then add the other shapes one at a time, keeping your strums even and relaxed. Once the changes are clean, bring it up to full tempo and aim for consistent rhythm over 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.