In this easy lesson, we'll learn how to play Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles on the guitar - including the beginner-friendly acoustic part and the cool riff. This is an awesome 4-chord song with a repeating chord progression, which makes this a great Harry Styles song for beginners! Although Watermelon Sugar has a basic structure, there are many layers in the original recording, and we'll explore all of them.
π‘ Watermelon Sugar has something for all levels. :) Beginners can play it using open chords and basic strumming, while Intermediate players can use barre chords and funk strumming. The cool riff is also a great thign to learn!
Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles is a great song for layering guitars, especially if you're playing in a band. You can blend the acoustic and electric parts and add the distorted riff too. :)
Let's start with a super easy tutorial to learn the chords and basic strumming! Check out JustinGuitarTabs for the verified tab for Watermelon Sugar and many other songs - including As It Was!
We can play an easy version of Watermelon Sugar using open chords and simple strumming. The chord progression is Dm, Am, C, then G, each for one bar. Remember that this repeats for the entire song. :)
π Still struggling with these simple, easy chords? Get started with my free Beginner Guitar Course - Grade 1.
Beginners can keep the strumming pattern simple: stick with one strum per bar, and you can play with Harry Styles' original song. If you're a confident strummer, adding a fuller pattern like the Old Faithful will bring lots of life to Watermelon Sugar! Try your favorite strumming patterns and see what sounds good. :) Watermelon Sugar is great for experimenting with strumming since the chords don't change.
π‘ Explore Strumming Dynamics! In my Strumming Dynamics course, we deeply explore how to vary your strumming patterns and a pro touch to your guitar playing. :)
Using the same strumming pattern all the way through a song with the same chord progression will get a bit boring for the listener! So I suggest you use different patterns for each section - go for a sparse pattern in the verses and a fuller one in the choruses. :)
If you're an Intermediate guitar player, explore playing Watermelon Sugar using barre chords instead of open chords. In this version, we play Dm7 instead of Dm and Am7 instead of Am.
The minor 7 grips are slightly different from the minor versions but shouldn't be too tricky if you've already nailed your barre chords. And the C and G are standard E Shape Major grips. :)
πΈ Boss Your Barre Chords: Become a barre-chords whizz with my free Intermediate guitar lessons. We cover all the common barre chord grips and how to move them around the neck. Unleash your fretboard!
If you can play those barre chords fine, add a funky strumming to sound even more interesting. ;)
An electric guitar plays a funky 16th-note pattern on the original Harry Styles record. This adds an awesome groove, but the consecutive up strums make it tricky to sing over. I had to record the vocal separately because I found it so tough! Check out the video lesson for the exact pattern. :)
You also need to remember to relax your fretting hand at the right time so that you mute the strings. If you don't, the rhythm won't sound right.
Another acoustic part on the Harry Styles original uses a capo on Fret 5. This is a great part to include in a multi-layer cover. :)
Since we're using a capo but want to play the same chords, we need to change our chord grips. The chords with the capo on fret 5 are Am, Em, G, and D.
Note that although these are the names of the chords relative to the capo, the chords we're playing are still Dm, Am, C, and G. Can you figure out why? ;) This is all to do with the CAGED system!
π§ Capo and CAGED system: What? We can play different chord progressions using the same open-chord grips just by moving the capo around? Don't worry - once you nail this idea, a whole new musical world opens up to you. We break it all down in my A Capo For Two lesson. :)
The electric riff in Watermelon Sugar isn't too tricky to play on the guitar. The counting is a bit awkward, so I suggest you listen to the original Harry Styles version to absorb the rhythm and try to repeat what you hear. :) Counting helps when you're struggling with a riff, but if you know how it sounds, you should be able to mimic the rhythm on your guitar.
Watermelon Sugar is a great grower and is perfect for exploring several guitar parts. Have loads of fun with it, and happy trails! :)
Check out the original
