Sharp Dressed Man

How to play Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 3 you play A, Am, G, D, E, Em and more, the shapes the player above shows.

Sharp Dressed Man is a fun one to learn because it has a tight, driving feel and a cool minor-key vibe. At about 120 BPM, it should feel punchy and steady once you lock into the groove, so it is a good song for building confidence with quick chord changes.

You will move between open shapes and barre shapes, so the main challenge is keeping your fretting hand relaxed. The chart starts with C - Cm - C - Cm, and that back-and-forth change is the one to watch closely. Clean switches between the open C and the barre Cm will make the whole song feel much smoother.

Start by practicing just the opening progression slowly until the shape change feels automatic. Then add the rest of the chords in small loops, keeping your strumming even and your hands relaxed. Once the changes are clean, bring the tempo up step by step until you can play along comfortably.

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.