September

by Taylor Swift • Lesson #144 • Apr 18, 2018

About this lesson

Here’s a video tutorial showing how to play September as covered by Taylor Swift. This is a three chord song, which makes it quite approachable… and you can use the capo notes below to use different chord shapes if that’s preferred. I hope it’s helpful – enjoy!

Hear Taylor play it…

Understanding the different capo options

Here’s a quick table showing how to play this song with different chords & capo positions. I’m using the capo 6 approach in my video tutorial, but you can get the exact same sound by moving your capo to any of the positions below (and changing the chords accordingly).

Capo      Chords      Key
===============================
No capo   F# B  C#    Key of F#
Capo 2    E  A  B     Key of E
Capo 4    D  G  A     Key of D
Capo 6    C  F  G     Key of C

Strumming pattern

Here’s the pattern I use. The chords are written on top, and the D and U letters represent down-strums and up-strums, respectively. The > symbol represents an accented strum, which is to be played with a bit more emphasis if possible.

F       C       G
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D   D U D   D U D   D U   U D U
>       >       >

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 266 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

Browse Related Lessons

Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Most of the lessons on my website are 100% free. If you have the means, please show your support with a tip jar contribution. I put many hours into every lesson — but it only takes you a minute to make a donation. You have my thanks!

Donate

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Key Master

See and hear the notes, chords, scales used in each of the most common keys.

View

Blank Tabs

Free PDF templates to download, print, and write out your own guitar tabs!

View

Coming soon is Jambox – which shows all the video jam tracks I've made. It's note quite ready for the spotlight, but check it out if you like!


Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!


Recent Lessons

  • March 21, 2025

    Leaving Your Comfort Zone to Speed Up Learning

    Tips on pushing your boundaries without overwhelming yourself, all in the name of learning more quickly & expanding your guitar skillset.

  • March 12, 2025

    "All The Best" by John Prine

    Let's learn how to play John Prine's 1991 classic! Tons of fun with his Travis-picking fingerstyle, where he makes magic with just three chords.

  • March 6, 2025

    Acoustic Fun with AC/DC's "Back in Black"

    Let's dive into the hard-hitting classic from AC/DC — played on an acoustic guitar! By rounding a few corners, I'll show you how to have fun with this 1980 classic.

  • Feb 24, 2025

    Major, Minor, and Pentatonic Scales in Every Key!

    I'm thrilled to finally share 40+ new pages of PDF cheat sheets looking at all the must-know scales! Many of you have asked about this in the last couple years... it's finally here!

  • Feb 12, 2025

    "Handle with Care" by Traveling Wilburys

    Let's dive into this 1988 classic from the late-1980s supergroup featuring George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison. So fun to play!

  • Feb 5, 2025

    Strumming Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind"

    I've updated my "Blowin' in the Wind" lesson with two zoomed playthrough videos, showing how to strum the verse & chorus (with and without bass-note strumming). Updated practice notes too!

  • Feb 4, 2025

    Tom T. Hall's Classic Country Riff

    I've updated my lesson for "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died" with new practice notes and three zoomed playthrough videos! The intro riff for this song is an absolute killer.

  • January 29, 2025

    "Third Coast" by Larry Joe Taylor

    Let's dive into this campfire-friendly fan-favorite by LJT! I'll teach it in two different keys, and show a few different ways to use strummy walk-downs to spice up the 8 measure progression.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage