How to play Stand By Me

Ben E. King

Four chords, G, Em, C and D, strummed 16 times at 119 BPM. Put a capo on fret 2: every fret number counts up from it. Each shape is drawn out below with the whole sequence, then how to practice it with Lark.

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119BPM at full speed
16chord strums
4chords
Beginnerlevel

The chords

Capo 2

The big names are the chords in the order you strum them. On the six lines below, each chord sits on the string its lowest note is played on. Put a capo on fret 2 and finger these shapes behind it.

Stand By Me tab, 16 strums, capo 2. The same tab is written out chord by chord in the list after it.
Read it chord by chord
  1. G strum (sounds A), lowest note on the low E string, fret 3
  2. G strum (sounds A), lowest note on the low E string, fret 3
  3. Em strum (sounds F#m), lowest note on the open low E string
  4. Em strum (sounds F#m), lowest note on the open low E string
  5. C strum (sounds D), lowest note on the A string, fret 3
  6. D strum (sounds E), lowest note on the open D string
  7. G strum (sounds A), lowest note on the low E string, fret 3
  8. G strum (sounds A), lowest note on the low E string, fret 3
  9. G strum (sounds A), lowest note on the low E string, fret 3
  10. G strum (sounds A), lowest note on the low E string, fret 3
  11. Em strum (sounds F#m), lowest note on the open low E string
  12. Em strum (sounds F#m), lowest note on the open low E string
  13. C strum (sounds D), lowest note on the A string, fret 3
  14. D strum (sounds E), lowest note on the open D string
  15. G strum (sounds A), lowest note on the low E string, fret 3
  16. G strum (sounds A), lowest note on the low E string, fret 3
Plain text tab
Capo 2

G   G   Em  Em  C   D   G   G
G   G   Em  Em  C   D   G   G

The shapes

  • EADGBe

    G

    8 strums, sounds A

  • EADGBe

    Em

    4 strums, sounds F#m

  • xEADGBe

    C

    2 strums, sounds D

  • xxEADGBe

    D

    2 strums, sounds E

Capo
Fret 2finger the shapes behind it
Chords
G Em C Dfour shapes, sounding A F#m D E
Chord changes
8in 16 strums
Strummed most
G8 times
Tempo
119 BPM60 BPM at half speed

How to practice it

Practice mode in Lark slows the song down and loops the part you keep missing, while it listens to every chord.

  1. Start slow

    Practice mode plays the click at 0.5x (60 BPM), 0.75x (89 BPM) or 1x (119 BPM). Stay at half speed until you stop missing, then step up.

  2. Loop the hard part

    Set a loop around any stretch of strums and it repeats until you have it. A good first loop: strums 4 to 7, the busiest stretch in this tab (Em, C, D, G).

  3. Play it and watch the score

    Lark listens through your mic for each chord as you strum it. Every chord turns green when you hit it and red when you miss, your accuracy updates as you go, and you see if you came in on the beat, late or slow.

  4. Read the coach's note

    When the song ends, the AI coach reads your run and gives you one specific thing to fix before the next one.

Play it with LarkTune up first

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