Welcome to the Guitar Domination Fingerpicking Classics Series. The first song in this series of 10 songs is the fabulous song ‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman.

If you want to download two free eBooks (in both pdf and Kindle formats) head HERE.

It’s a song close to my heart and I remember hearing it as a kid and really loving it back then. Since teaching guitar, ‘Fast Car’ has made its way to the top of my list as the first fingerpicking song that I teach most of my private students – if they like it of course!

Most students not only like it but love it! I hope you enjoy playing this song as much as I and my other students do.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to learn lots more easy fingerpicking songs!

Fast Car Guitar Chords

Fast Car is played using a capo on the 2nd fret and uses just 4 chords throughout the song. They are C, G, Em, D. 

You may not recognise the shapes of Em and D in the fingerpicking section of the song as they are played higher up the fretboard. This is where it pays to learn the common Major and minor chords all over the fretboard so you can recognise them whenever a song such as this uses those chords.

Start off slow and build up the speed especially if you need quicker chord changes as this may hamper your playing with this song.

Fast Car Tab

Capo fret 2

e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|x2
B|--0h1--0---3--3-----------8---8-----7---7----------------------------------|
G|--0---------------0-----------------------0--------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|--3-----------------------7---------5--------------------------------------|
E|-----------3---------------------------------------------------------------|

e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--0h1--0---3--3-----------8------10--8----7-----8----7---------------------|
G|--0---------------0--------------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|--3-----------------------7---------------5--------------------------------|
E|-----------3---------------------------------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--0h1--0---3--3-----------8---8-----7---7----------------------------------|
G|--0---------------0-----------------------0--------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|--3-----------------------7---------5--------------------------------------|
E|-----------3---------------------------------------------------------------|

Fast Car Strumming Pattern

The strum pattern in the chorus is a fairly simple strum and one I call ‘The Ultimate Strum Pattern’. If you want more help with your strumming, click here.

MY NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Fix Your Bad Habits, Elevate Your Technique, And Learn Three Stunning Songs With My Two Free And Exclusive eBooks.

[Not Available Anywhere Else]

Comments

10 best simple yet beautiful fingerpicking songs every guitarists should know
February 21, 2015 Reply

[…] Click HERE to learn Fast Car […]

Phil Higdon aka Silver Beard
August 11, 2015 Reply

Learning the finger picking patterns would be easier with tab added. Or even musical notation.

Danny
August 13, 2015 Reply

Hey Phil, Thanks for the comment. This is something I have been meaning to do for a while. I have added the tab for this video and will do the rest soon. Cheers!

Niels van der Werf
March 29, 2016 Reply

Great video and nice to have the tabs added. Learned the song in no time.
I do prefer using the actual (regular) D-chord.
It makes switching to the C-chord easier in my opinion. Both ways work fine however!

John
September 26, 2016 Reply

you’re a legend mate, thanks for the video. first decent fingerpick song i have learnt

Dan
September 27, 2016 Reply

No problem, mate. Glad you enjoyed!

Trigger
October 14, 2016 Reply

Great video, very easy to follow and your experience in teaching definitely came through. I look forward to watching and learning from your other videos. Again thank you

Dan
October 14, 2016 Reply

Thanks for the compliments and I`m delighted you found it so useful! 🙂

Darren Ross
January 2, 2017 Reply

Thank You HEAPS.
I found your tutorial style works for me better than anyone else so far.
Its simple, basic and steady flow was encouraging and effective.
“More we want more”

Dan
January 3, 2017 Reply

Thanks Darren, that`s great to hear. Good luck on your guitar playing journey – glad to be part of it! 🙂

Guitar Capo Round-Up Review – What Is The Best Capo For Acoustic Guitarists? – Guitar Domination
December 9, 2018 Reply

[…] as the above, my testing also included playing some general pieces from a variety of songs such as Fast Car and Scarborough […]

10 best simple yet beautiful fingerpicking songs every guitarists should know
February 25, 2019 Reply

[…] FREE LESSON – Click HERE to learn Fast Car […]

Sad song of The Most BEAUTIFUL Fingerpicking songs ever – Sad Songs
May 6, 2020 Reply

[…] Click on HERE to be taught Quick Automobile […]

Add Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.