Have you ever been captivated by those ads promising guitar mastery in minutes? The allure of instant skill is tempting, but true learning goes deeper. While you can strum a song quickly, understanding how and why the music works empowers you to grow as a guitarist. Simply mimicking might get you through a tune, but grasping the underlying principles unlocks your musical potential. For beginners especially, blending the “how-to” with the “why” is the key to lasting progress.
This lesson, the first in our “Easy Songs for Beginners” series here at guitarplayers.net, aims to do just that. We’ll guide you through learning the timeless classic “Horse With No Name” by America, not just as a set of chords, but as a gateway to understanding basic music concepts. Beyond just playing the notes, we’ll explore strumming variations, even touch upon a simple bass line, and in our follow-up lesson, Adding Some Personal Touches, we’ll dive into rhythm riffs and lead guitar elements. Consider this your friendly, no-pressure introduction to real guitar playing.
The Bare Essentials: Two Simple Chords
Forget those outlandish claims of overnight guitar stardom. Let’s be realistic. We’re assuming you’ve at least held a guitar before and know some basic guitar terminology. If you’re brand new to the instrument, start with our Absolute Beginners Chords lesson. Specifically, familiarize yourself with the E minor chord – it’s the first one we introduce and it’s crucial for this lesson.
Why E minor? Because “Horse With No Name,” penned by Dewey Bunnell of the band America, is famously built around just two chords. One is E minor, which you’re about to learn or already know. The other? Well, that’s where things get a little interesting.
The E minor (Em) chord is indeed beginner-friendly. But what about that second chord? How did Bunnell stumble upon it? It’s likely a happy accident, a bit of fretboard exploration that just sounded right. Whatever the origin, the magic lies in its simplicity and how well it complements Em.
Both chords are easy to finger. For Em, you simply place your second finger on the 2nd fret of the A string (5th string) and your first finger on the 2nd fret of the D string (4th string). Now, for the chord we’re calling “Dadd6add9” for now (we’ll explain this name later!), the transition is incredibly smooth. Simply shift both fingers down one string set. So, the finger that was on the A string now goes to the low E string (6th string), and the finger that was on the D string moves to the G string (3rd string), both still on the 2nd fret. It’s almost like a mini-finger exercise!
Don’t worry too much about the “Dadd6add9” name just yet. If you’re curious, jump ahead to the section “What is that chord really?”.
The song’s rhythm is in 4/4 time – four beats per measure – with a chord change on every measure. Start with a basic downstroke. You can strum on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4) or add a little variation by strumming on beats one, two, and four. Remember, “Horse With No Name” has a moderate tempo – not too fast, not too slow. When learning, prioritize smooth chord changes and a steady beat over speed. A metronome is an invaluable tool for developing your timing.
Here’s a simplified chord chart to get you started with the verse and chorus structure:
Horse With No Name by America cheat sheet chords and lyrics
Simple, right? Let’s move on and explore how to make it sound even better.
Adding Strumming Dynamics
Often, beginners focus heavily on learning chords and finger placement. While essential, with “Horse With No Name,” the chord shapes are so straightforward that you can quickly shift your attention to rhythm and strumming – arguably the heart of guitar playing.
It’s easy to underestimate the power of rhythm. It’s not just about keeping time; it’s about adding groove, making the song engaging, and expressing yourself musically.
“Just hitting the strings” might seem simple, but intentional strumming unlocks a new dimension. The basic rhythm we suggested earlier is a starting point, a tool for keeping time. But to get closer to the original feel of “Horse With No Name,” we need to incorporate upstrokes (strumming upwards, towards your head) and explore subdivisions within each beat – specifically eighth notes.
Instead of counting “1, 2, 3, 4,” think “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and…” The tempo remains the same; we’re simply dividing each beat in half. This might sound faster initially, but it’s just more rhythmic complexity within the same timeframe.
Here’s an alternative strumming pattern using downstrokes (indicated by ) and upstrokes (indicated by ):
This pattern is functional, but still quite basic. To capture the song’s essence, we need to emphasize the upstroke, creating a more syncopated and interesting rhythm. Here’s a strumming pattern that gets closer to the authentic feel:
Horse With No Name by America chords strumming pattern alternateDownload MP3
If upstrokes are new to you, start slowly. Focus on counting each beat and placing each stroke accurately. You’ll be surprised how quickly upstrokes become natural with a little practice.
Enriching the Sound: Adding a Simple Bass Line
Once you’re comfortable with the chords and strumming patterns, we can add another layer – a bass line. It won’t be a complex bass part, but for a beginner, it’s a fantastic way to add depth and texture to your playing with a surprisingly simple technique.
The trick is to emphasize the root note on the first beat of each measure. For our purposes, we’ll focus on the lowest string, the 6th string (low E). On the first beat of each measure, strike only the 6th string. Then, continue with your chosen strumming pattern for the rest of the measure.
When you combine this bass note with the strumming, it creates a fuller, richer sound. Here’s an example using notation, with “D” for downstrokes and “U” for upstrokes to clarify the pattern:
Horse With No Name by America chords strumming example one
From this foundation, you can experiment further. One cool technique is to create a percussive upstroke on the second beat of the E minor chord measure. Strum upwards close to the bridge of your guitar (where the strings attach to the body), letting it ring out for the remaining beats. This adds a dynamic, almost rhythmic “chop” to the sound:
Horse With No Name by America chords strumming example two
Another variation is to switch from strumming to fingerpicking. In this example, on the last beat and a half of the measure, we pick the three highest strings (B, G, and high E) with upstrokes. This creates a delicate, melodic counterpoint to the strumming:
Horse With No Name by America chords strumming example three
Once you have a few of these patterns under your fingers, the real fun begins. You can start mixing and matching, combining “E minor pattern 1” with “Dadd6add9 pattern 3,” and so on. It becomes a creative exploration, pushing you to discover new rhythmic possibilities within a simple song structure.
This demonstrates that even the simplest songs can be incredibly rewarding if you’re willing to invest time and effort into exploring their potential. Or, you can just learn the basic chords and move on. The choice, as always, is yours.
Decoding the “Dadd6add9” Chord
Let’s finally address that intriguing second chord: “Dadd6add9.” If we analyze the notes within this chord shape, here’s what we find:
As we discussed in our lesson Building Additions and Suspensions, this chord is versatile and can be named in various ways. Bm7 (add 4)? D6 (add 9)? Even E9 (sus4)? All are technically valid labels based on the notes present.
Context is key in chord naming – how a chord functions within a song progression. Chord voicing, meaning where notes are played on the guitar, also plays a crucial role. Let’s re-examine our two chords in “Horse With No Name”:
What’s the key of the song? The easiest approach is often the most effective: “It starts and ends on E minor, so it’s likely in E minor.” And that’s a perfectly reasonable assumption. Listen to how the Em chord feels like “home,” a point of resolution. The “Dadd6add9,” in contrast, feels more unsettled, yearning for resolution – it wants to move somewhere. Play the chords in reverse order, and this feeling persists.
After playing the song extensively, one thing becomes clear: the F# in the bass of the “Dadd6add9” voicing feels right. It fits better than D, E, or even A as the root. This F# bass note strongly suggests that F# might be the true root of this chord. If we build a chord starting on F#, stacking intervals of thirds and comparing it to the notes in our “Dadd6add9” shape (using “-” to indicate missing notes), we get:
We see that the 5th (C#) and 9th (G#) are absent from our six-note chord shape. Instead, we have an added A (the 4th/11th). Therefore, we could call it F#m13 for simplicity, or F#m7 (no 5)(add 4)(add 6) for a more detailed, albeit cumbersome, name. Simplicity often wins when labeling chords. And yes, musicians can (and do!) debate chord names endlessly.
This raises an interesting question: what happens when a chord theoretically has seven or more notes? With only six strings on a standard guitar, which note do you omit?
Traditionally, the 5th is often dropped. However, sometimes even the root note can be implied rather than explicitly played (we’ll explore such chords in future lessons). The practical reality of finger placement on the fretboard often dictates which notes are present. For example, strumming an open guitar in standard tuning produces an A11 chord. The notes are E (5th), A (root), D (11th), G (7th), B (9th), and E (5th again). The 3rd (C#) is missing, yet it sounds complete. A good guideline for 9th, 11th, and 13th chords is to include the 7th along with the root to establish the chord’s character.
Is this chord theory deep dive crucial for simply playing “Horse With No Name”? Perhaps not immediately. But understanding these concepts expands your musical knowledge and opens doors to further exploration. And that’s precisely what we’ll delve into next time – how understanding chord identity, like calling our second chord “Dadd6add9,” helps us determine the modal centers of our harmonies. This knowledge, in turn, informs our choices for fills and lead guitar lines. It’s less daunting than it sounds!
As always, please send in your questions, comments, and topic suggestions for future lessons via the Guitar Forums or email me directly at [email protected].
Until next time, keep playing!
Peace.
Liner Notes
“A Horse With No Name,” a folk-rock classic by America, penned by Dewey Bunnell, echoes the acoustic style of Neil Young. Ironically, in 1972, this very song replaced Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” as the number one single in the US charts.
