Welcome! Today we’re going to learn Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” on guitar. It’s a fantastic beginner song and, fun fact, the first full strumming song I ever learned. Let’s dive right in!
So, this song has four main chords: E minor, C, D, and G. We’ll start with an E minor chord, adding our pinky on the 3rd of the B to create an E minor 7. The intro consists of E minor, D, and back to E minor with a little lick thrown in. If you’re a super beginner, you can skip the lick, but it’s fun to practice. It’s based on the E minor shape, with a hammer-on and open D.
Next up, we have the main progression. It goes E minor, C, D, and G, which is also the verse. We’ll add a rhythm to it, strumming down and up. This progression happens three times, and then we’re back to the intro.
Now, the good news is we don’t have to learn anything new for the verse. We’ll repeat the verse progression three times before moving to the chorus, which is a new combination of the chords. The chorus starts with E minor, G, and then a quick C and G. There’s a little rhythm hit we need to pay attention to, where we’ll rest or chuck for an extra punch.
After going through the intro, verse, and chorus, we’ll then move on to the second verse, which is the same as the first. The end section of the song is pretty simple, too. We’ll play the verse section three times, then sing over the intro section three times, and finally play the chorus progression once to finish the song.
As an optional tip, you can play E minor 7 instead of a regular E minor in the chorus to give it a little extra flair. But that’s up to you!
Have fun with “Heart of Gold,” and I’ll see you in another lesson real soon. Take care!