← Prev Song Next Song →

Brown Eyed Girl

by Van Morrison • Lesson #479 • Mar 19, 2023

Hello there, my friends! In today’s lesson I’ll teach you how to play Brown Eyed Girl, the Van Morrison classic from 1967. I’ll start off with a beginner-friendly walkthrough of things, including the chord shapes some basic strumming patterns. Later in the lesson I’ll move into some more intermediate techniques, including a percussive strum pattern and a few ways to play the distinctive intro riff. I hope you enjoy!

Timestamps for my main lesson:

0:00 Lesson Summary
1:44 Chord Shapes
4:33 Chord Progressions
7:43 Strumming: Basics
11:36 Strumming: Percussive Slaps
14:42 Intro: Basic Melody
16:52 Intro: Using Sixths
22:02 Intro: Hybrid Picking Tips

Lesson Discussion

Play-Along Covers

Here’s a video showing two play-along covers you can use to practice playing this song. One of them uses the “intermediate” strumming pattern I teach (0:00), while the other uses the percussive slap-strum (1:39).

Backing Tracks

If you want to practice playing over the G-C-G-D chord progression (used in the intro, verse, and refrain) — check out these backing tracks! You could use these to practice strumming, playing the vocal melody, the intro riff (in open position or using sixths).

I’ve included two versions here, one slower (95bpm) and the other a bit more brisk (110bpm). For context, Van Morrison’s recorded version is played at 150bpm — which is quite fast, compared to these!

Here’s some related lessons I’ve made to help the chords & techniques used in this song.

Licensed Song Sheet 3 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.

Buy at Musicnotes.com

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?

Recently Added

Featured Courses

Blues Starter Kit

A guide to must-know elements of beginner blues guitar! I'll walk you through the essential topics, showing you fun things to play along the way.

6 lessons • 1 hr 18 mins

View

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learn to read tabs, chord charts, fretboard diagrams, strumming patterns, and more! This course explains how to understand all of these must-know notation styles.

6 lessons • 41 mins

View

Learning Lead Guitar

A collection of videos teaching you licks, riffs, solos, and other lead guitar techniques! Includes info on scales, CAGED shapes, and other helpful lead guitar concepts.

21 lessons • 5 hr 46 mins

View

Beginner Chord Guide

A guide to the must-know chords you'll need when getting started with guitar! The quickest way to learn major chords, minor chords, the chords in each key, and more.

22 lessons • 2 hrs 15 mins

View

Practical Music Theory

A general overview of must-know theory concepts. The goal here is practical, easy-to-understand explanations — all of which provide clarity to your everyday guitar playing.

12 lessons • 1 hr 50 mins

View

Using a Capo

Capos are incredibly helpful if you want to play along with your favorite artist, change a song's key, adjust things to your vocal range, and so on. In this series of videos I explain all this & more!

8 lessons • 1 hr 18 mins

View

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

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

September 13, 2024

"Rebel Rouser" - 1950s Lead Guitar Lesson

Let's learn how to play Duane Eddy's 1958 classic! This song's memorable riff is easy to approach, but poses a fun challenge as the song changes key over and over. I'll walk you through it all, jam tracks included!
September 5, 2024

Lead Guitar Lesson Roundup!

I've organized all my lead guitar lessons into a new easy-to-browse area of the website! Whether you're interested in techniques or learning song-based riffs, I've got a lot of lessons I'm sure you'll enjoy.
Aug 30, 2024

"Linger" by The Cranberries

A deep-dive into The Cranberries 1993 classic, showing you the intro riff and three different ways to strum the verse & chorus. Such a fun song to play!
Aug 21, 2024

Capos, Explained: 6 New Lessons & PDF Guides

I've updated the capo section of my website, featuring 6 new lessons, a handful of PDF guides, and a new interactive web tool – Capo Captain!
August 8, 2024

"Spin You Around" by Morgan Wallen

Let's learn how to play Morgan Wallen's "1/24" re-issue of this song — which features an amazingly fun fingerstyle riff!
July 31, 2024

"Tonight You Belong To Me" as covered by Eddie Vedder / Steve Martin

Learn a guitar version of this classic ukulele tune, which makes for a great duet! You may know it from Steve Martin's performance in The Jerk!
July 24, 2024

Must-Know Strumming Patterns in 6/8 Time

Learn how to strum any song in 6/8 time! Here's a collection of 8 must-know strumming patterns in that time signature, from beginning to advanced.
July 13, 2024

"Wondering Why" by Red Clay Strays

Let's learn how to play this easy-going, Southern-Rock hit! Plenty of strumming & rhythm tips, including a capo'd acoustic version if you want to avoid barre chords.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage

Brown Eyed Girl

Lesson Discussion

Play-Along Covers

Backing Tracks

Related Technique Lessons

Licensed Song Sheet 3 pages

Other Suggested Videos

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Browse Related Lessons

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Blues Starter Kit

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learning Lead Guitar

Beginner Chord Guide

Practical Music Theory

Using a Capo

Browse By Topic

Walk-Ups & Walk-Downs

Strumming & Rhythm

Barre Chords

Travis Picking Fingerstyle

Learning Songs

Learning Lead Guitar

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Capo Captain

Key Master

Blank Tabs

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Recent Lessons