Reindeers are Better Than People

by Frozen • Lesson #16 • Jan 23, 2014

Editor’s Notes

Here’s an acoustic guitar lesson teaching you how to play Reindeers Are Better Than People, as heard in the 2013 film Frozen. This one was tricky to work out, but I’m quite happy with the end result! I’ll teach you the chords, and also show a few helpful tabs to capture the vibe of the soundtrack version’s arrangement. I hope you enjoy it!

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Chords w/ lyrics

INTRO
    G  C/G  G     A7

KRISTOFF
    D             A           D        D7
    Reindeers are better than people
    G               A            F#m     D7
    Sven, don't you think that's true?

SVEN
          Em          A
    Yeah, people will beat you
        D             B
    and curse you and cheat you
          E             A          D
    Every one of them's bad except you

KRISTOFF
    (no chord)          A7
    Oh, thanks buddy...
        D            A           D         D7
    But people smell better than reindeers
    G               A         F#m     D7
    Sven, don't you think I'm right?

SVEN
           Em         A         D          B
    That's once again true, for all except you

KRISTOFF
        E             A         Bm
    You got me, let's call it a night

SVEN
         E        
    Good night...

KRISTOFF
    D             A7        D      D6
    Don't let the frostbite bite

Guitar Chords Used

Here is how you play this song’s chords on a guitar. Note that in the recorded version of this song, it is played via fingerpicked chords – and often not all of the strings are plucked for any given chord. You can of course strum/pick the chords however you like, but take note of that if you’re listening along for reference.

e-|---3----3----0---0----2---7---2----2----0----0-------2---
B-|---0----1----2---2----3---7---1----2----0----0---4---3---
G-|---0----0----2---0----2---7---2----2----0----1---4---4---
D-|---0----2----2---2----0---0---0----4----2----2---4---4---
A-|---2----x----0---0-----------------4----2----2---2---2---
E-|---3----3--------------------------2----0----0-----------
      G   C/G   A   A7   D   D6  D7  F#m   Em   E   B   Bm

Intro Guitar Tab

Here is the guitar tab for the intro of this song – as I play it, at least. This pretty much exactly matches up with the soundtrack version.

e-|---------------------------------0-----------------||
B-|----0-------1----0-------------2-------------------||
G-|----0-------0----0-----------0---------------------||
D-|----0-------2----0---------2-----------------------||
A-|-------------------------0-------------------------||
E-|----3-------3----3---------------------------------||
       G      C/G   G       A7

Verse Guitar Tab

Here is the guitar tab used in the two verses in this song. This matches how I play it, which is very close to what you hear on the album. Note that some chords are plucked (all strings at once), while others are finger picked in an arpeggio fashion. You can do no wrong, really – just learn the chords, know the words, and play it.

e-|---2-------------0-----------2---------------------|-
B-|---3-------------2-----------3--------------1------|-
G-|---2-------------2-----------2--------------2------|-
D-|---0-------------------------0--------------0------|-
A-|-----------------0---------------------------------|-
E-|---------------------------------------------------|-
      D             A           D              D7
     "Reindeers are better than people..."

 -|----------------------------------5----------------|-
 -|------0-----------2---------------2---------1------|-
 -|------0-----------2---------------2---------2------|-
 -|------0-----------2---------------4---------0------|-
 -|------------------0--------------------------------|-
 -|------3--------------------------------------------|-
         G           A               F#m       D7
     "...Sven, don't you think that's true?"

 -|--------------------------2------------------------|-
 -|------0-----------2-------3--------4---------------|-
 -|------0-----------2-------2--------4---------------|-
 -|------2-----------2-------0--------4---------------|-
 -|------------------0----------------2---------------|-
 -|------0--------------------------------------------|-
         Em          A       D        B
     "...People will beat... curse... cheat..."

 -|-------------------------------------2-------------||
 -|------------0-------------2----------3-------------||
 -|------------1-------------2----------2-------------||
 -|------------2-------------2----------0-------------||
 -|--------------------------0------------------------||
 -|------------0--------------------------------------||
               E             A          D
     "...every one of them's bad except you."

Ending Guitar Tab

Here is the guitar tab for the ending of the song (heard in the second verse only).

e-|---------------------------------------------------|-
B-|------------0-------------2---------3--------------|-
G-|------------1-------------2---------4--------------|-
D-|------------2-------------2---------4--------------|-
A-|--------------------------0---------2--------------|-
E-|------------0--------------------------------------|-
               E             A         Bm
       "...you got me, let's call it a night...".

 -|----------------2-----------------------2-----/7---||
 -|---------0------3-------------2---------3-----/7---||
 -|---------1------2-------------2---------2-----/7---||
 -|---------2------0-------------2---------0------0---||
 -|------------------------------0--------------------||
 -|---------0-----------------------------------------||
            E      D             A         D      D6
   "...good night, don't let the frostbite bite."

Good luck!

Let me know if you have any questions. I hope this was helpful.

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