ZZ Top Sharp Dressed Man

How to play ZZ Top Sharp Dressed Man by Unknown on guitar

This is a great beginner song to learn because the groove is steady and the chord motion is easy to hear. You get a confident, driving feel without needing a lot of fast changes, so it is a good one for building timing and clean transitions.

You will use a mix of open shapes and barre shapes. C, F, Dm, and G are the easier open chords, while A#, Fm, Gm, and Cm need more hand strength and accuracy. The main change to watch is the opening move from C to A# to Fm and back to C, since that jump can feel awkward at first.

Start by practicing the opening progression slowly and making each chord ring clearly. Then loop the open shapes by themselves, add the barre shapes one at a time, and only speed up once your changes feel smooth. Keep the pulse steady and let the song’s simple rhythm do the work.

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.