Hey guitar players! Sean Daniel from Guitar Control here, and today we’re diving into a super popular song that’s a real crowd-pleaser, especially with the younger folks, but still loved by everyone. We’re talking about Taylor Swift’s “Lover”, and we’re going to break down the guitar chords so you can play it yourself.
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This song is in 3/4 time, which gives it a cool waltz feel. It’s fantastic for practicing different strumming patterns and the best part? It’s really simple to learn. Let’s get into how it sounds. Plays a snippet of “Lover” You can hear there’s a bridge section too, but for now, let’s focus on the main parts and then we’ll get to that bridge later. Plays the bridge section and then returns to the main part.
What’s great about “Lover” is its structure – it’s straightforward but has enough variation to keep it interesting. And let’s be honest, ladies love this song! Learning this is a smart move for any guitarist. It’s in 3/4 time, or you could think of it as 6/8, depending on how you count. Essentially, we’re strumming with a slightly different rhythm. But don’t worry, the chords are super easy. Most of the song uses just G, D, and C (or Cadd9).
Let’s look at the G major chord. Middle finger on the 3rd fret of the low E-string, index finger on the 2nd fret of the A-string, and ring and pinky fingers on the 3rd fret of the B and high E-strings. That’s your G major. The strumming pattern for this waltz feel is like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or you can count it 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. It’s all about getting that waltz vibe – anything in 3/4 or 6/8 time has that waltz feel.
So, counting in six, the strumming pattern I use is: Root, down, up, down, up, down. Or numerically: 1, 2, and 3, and 4, 5, and 6. The numbers are downstrokes, and “and” is an upstroke. 1, 2, and 3, and 4, 5, and 6. On the ‘one’, I’m hitting the low E-string for that root note. I’m adding dynamics here too, because this is the verse. We don’t want to start too loud and have nowhere to build to.
So again, it’s 1, 2, and 3, and 4, 5, and 6. Watch my pick – I’m moving across the strings, getting a range from low to high and back to the root for the next bar. 1, 2, and 3, and 4, 5, and 6. Then we move to D, then C, and the same strumming applies.
Now, here’s a cool trick for this song and many songs in G major that use G, D, and C. You can keep your ring and pinky fingers anchored, like in Oasis’s “Wonderwall”. Keep those fingers planted for G, then for D (technically a Dsus4 with the pinky down, but don’t worry about the name). You can add a little movement on the D if you like, lifting and placing the pinky, or keep it still. 1, 2, and 3, and 4, 5, and 6.
Then to C, technically a Cadd9, which is similar to G but with your middle and index fingers on the A and D strings respectively. So, G for six counts, then D for six counts, then C for six counts, and another count on C to finish the phrase.
The verse and chorus are quite similar in chord progression. For the verse, you might want to palm mute a little. Bring your palm to the bridge to get a muted sound, especially if you’re playing with a singer. This gives them space, and then you can bring up the dynamics for bigger parts of the song.
Now, let’s walk into the end of the chorus. It goes like this (from the D, C progression): D, C, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, and 3, and 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and back to G. It might sound complicated, but it’s not. We’re just moving backwards through a scale. The song is in the key of G – a good clue is that we start on a G chord. This isn’t always the case, but it is here.
If we descend through the notes in the G major scale: G, F#, E. Learning your scales is really helpful! Check out other videos on my Sean Daniel playlist for scale lessons. G to F# to E – these are the lowest notes we can easily play in the key of G on guitar. 3rd fret low E, 2nd fret low E, open low E.
Adding these notes with our anchored ring and pinky fingers helps create chords. First, G major. Then, technically a D slash chord (D/F#), where you add your middle finger to the 2nd fret of the G-string and index finger to the low F#. 1, 2, and 3, 1, 2, and 3. Then open E minor, technically E minor 7, by keeping ring and pinky and placing index and middle fingers on the 2nd frets of the A and D strings. 1, 2, and 3, lower, lower.
What note comes before E in the key of G? It’s D. Even though we can’t go lower than the open E string on a standard guitar, we move to D next – the D from the D suspended 4 chord. And before D is C. So it’s a simple descent through the scale.
Instead of memorizing chord charts, thinking in scales can be much more helpful. You just descend the G scale to C: G, F#, E, D, C. Stay on C until the “Lover” part comes back in, then back to the verse or bridge.
Speaking of the bridge, it’s really fun to play. The chords are G, D, E minor, to F. Four chords, and the same strumming: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 (or a bar of six). G for a bar of six, D for six, then E minor, then F major. This bridge is a classic Taylor Swift songwriting move – using F major in the key of G adds a lovely emotional touch.
After E minor, we go to F major (you can use an Fmaj7 or barre F). Barre the 1st fret, ring and pinky on the 3rd fret of the A and D, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the G, or a simpler version with just the first three strings and index on the 1st fret of the B. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
So the bridge’s first four chords are G, D, E minor, F, with our strumming. Then it moves to C, E minor, A minor, D. The A minor to D section acts as a reset. D often leads back to G in the key of G, especially at the end of a phrase. The whole bridge can be thought of as two groups of four chords:
Group 1: G, D, E minor, F
Group 2: C, E minor, A minor, D
Then it repeats: G, D, E minor, F, then C, E minor, A minor, D. That D leads us back to the G for the chorus. Then the song moves back to G, F, C, C, A minor, A minor, D, D, and into the chorus again. The descending part comes at the very end, repeated three times to finish.
Let’s talk a bit more about the bridge because it adds so much emotion with that F major chord, which is unexpected in the key of G but works beautifully.
The bridge starts like the rest with G, then to F, then C. Stay on C, and end on A minor twice to D. Remember the first part of the bridge ended A minor to D as well. Studying this chord progression with a chart is really helpful to visualize it. Sometimes in live performances, you might skip the bridge if you’re not confident, but you’re here to learn it!
Let’s break down the bridge again:
Chunk 1: G to D to E minor to F
Chunk 2: C to E minor to A minor to D
Repeat that whole sequence twice. After the second repeat, start on G as usual, bring in the F chord to C a couple of times, A minor to D, and tag the end of the bridge with A minor D, which brings you back to G and the familiar G, D, C chorus. And then the descending outro.
The descending outro sounds great muted. Plays muted descending outro E minor, D, C. Maybe open it up on the C a little. The last time, let everything ring out. End with a dramatic up rake, quick and clean – a perfect way to finish any song in G and impress everyone. It shows you’ve got great taste and aren’t afraid to play Taylor Swift – because it’s just a great song!
I hope you enjoyed this lesson on “Lover”. Check out my other lessons on the Guitar Control channel for more. Let me know what you think in the comments, what you want more of, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next lesson!
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