🚨 An updated version of this song lesson was released on January 17, 2025. Check it out here!

This Van Morrison song is a classic!

He wrote Brown Eyed Girl in 1967. Since then, this song has been a regular on rock radio all over the world, and many bands have covered it during the last decades.

Brown Eyed Girl is a cracking tune, very popular at parties and stuff. The best news? It’s also a super fun song to learn on the acoustic guitar.

💡 If you're following my Beginner Guitar Course, you can learn this song right in the beginning. Great tune for Grade 1 practices!

You’ll only need open chords. And for those up for a little challenge, the riff in the intro is useful to learn. ;) Now, let's get stuck in.

The Strumming Pattern for Brown Eyed Girl

If you’re a beginner, start very simple and then fancy it up with time. Brown Eyed Girl is a 4x4 tune, so just playing one strum per beat on each bar will sound great!

If you’re comfortable playing things a bit faster, try out an all-down strumming pattern for the chorus. Make sure you experiment with the song's dynamics - a good way to practice it is by playing along with the original record.

🚨 TIP: An awesome way to change the dynamic from the verse to the chorus is holding your pick a bit harder when you want the song to sound fuller. Watch the tutorial to see it. If you’re comfortable with rhythm, use this handful of strumming patterns for the verses.

We’ll also take a good look at how to play the Brown Eyed Girl intro on guitar. The riff will work better if you’ve got a jam buddy playing the chords with you. But this riff is a Triad Chord Grip, so it's a super useful little trick to have in hand! Guitarists learning to play with me will get started with triads in Grade 4.

👉 Want Verified TABS for Brown-Eyed Girl? Check out JustinGuitar Tabs!