You Are My Sunshine

How to play You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis on guitar

You Are My Sunshine is a great beginner song because the melody is familiar and the feel is steady and warm. At about 98 BPM, you can keep it relaxed and focus on clean changes while the song stays easy to follow.

You’ll spend most of the song on open shapes, with F, G, Am, Dm, and A available, but the harder barre shapes A#, G#, and Cm will add more challenge. The main change to watch is the opening move from F to G and then into A#, since that first run can feel awkward until your hands learn it.

Start by looping the opening progression slowly: F - G - F - A#. Then practice the barre shapes one at a time, making sure each note rings clearly before linking them back into the open chords. Once the changes feel smooth, bring the tempo up little by little until it feels natural.

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.