Paint It, Black

How to play Paint It, Black by The Rolling Stones on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 3 you play Dm, A, D, C, C#m, G and more, the shapes the player above shows.

This song is worth learning because it has a dark, driving feel that stays tense from start to finish. You get a strong, hypnotic groove at about 120 BPM, and the repeating progression makes it satisfying once it locks in.

The chart mixes open shapes like C, F, Em, E, and A with harder barre shapes like Fm, D#, A#, and G#. The main thing to watch is the move between Fm and C, then back to F and Fm again - that change sets the mood and can throw off your timing if you rush it.

Start by looping the opening progression slowly until the shape changes feel automatic. Then add the full song in small sections, keeping the pulse steady, and only speed up when you can land each chord cleanly without breaking the groove.

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.