Black Friday

How to play Black Friday by Tom Odell on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 6 you play F, Dm, C, Am, Em, D, the shapes the player above shows.

Black Friday is a strong song to learn if you want a steady, emotional groove that feels direct and controlled. At about 120 BPM, you can focus on keeping the pulse even and letting the progression do the work. It is a good beginner pick because the shape of the song is easy to follow once your hands settle in.

The chart uses barre shapes for B, G#m, F#, D#m, A#m, and G#, so the main challenge is clean fretting and smooth pressure changes rather than open chords. Watch the move from B to G#m to F# and back to B in the opening progression, since that is where you need the most accuracy and the least extra motion.

Start by looping just B - G#m - F# - B slowly until each change feels relaxed. Then raise the tempo in small steps while keeping your strumming even and your chord changes quiet. Once that feels solid, play along with the full song and aim for consistency 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.