Up Around the Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival

How to play Up Around the Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival by Unknown on guitar

This is a great beginner song because it moves fast, feels upbeat, and gives you a strong, driving groove to lock into. You’ll get a classic rock feel without needing anything too fancy, so it’s a good one for building confidence.

Most of the song uses open shapes: D, A, Dm, and G. The harder shapes in the chart are D#m and F#m, so if you see those, be ready for barre-style hand position. The change to watch out for is the opening move from D to A and then to Dm, since that shift can feel awkward at first.

Start by looping the opening progression slowly - D, A, D, Dm - until your fingers land cleanly. Then add the rest of the open shapes one at a time, and only bring in the barre shapes after the changes feel steady. Once the chords are smooth, practice with the beat at a slower pace and work up toward full 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.