Stuff That Works

by Guy Clark • Lesson #516 • Sep 14, 2023

Hello, friends! In today’s lesson I’m excited to teach you Stuff That Works, the Guy Clark classic from 1995. I’ll show how to strum your way through the verse & chorus sections, in addition to teaching the amazing intro riff (which I’ll play a few different ways). For strumming in particular, I’ll demonstrate a couple options for how you approach things. This will allow you to use the pattern that works for you, in both the intro and the sung parts. This is a fun one… let’s get into it!

0:00 Overview
1:28 Chords
2:02 Verse
5:18 Chorus
7:38 Alt. Bass Note Strum
8:43 Intro Riff: Basics
13:53 Intro Riff: Strum #1
15:58 Intro Riff: Strum #2

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

Lesson Discussion

Play-Along Cover

Here’s a beginning-to-end playthrough of the entire song, where I demonstrate how to combine everything I teach in my main lesson. Feel free to play-along with me, if you wish!

Here’s a few lessons I mention in my main tutorial, which will help when learning this song.

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?

Recently Added

Featured Courses

Strumming & Rhythm

While your left hand is busy learning chords, your right hand has its own job: creating a sense of rhythm with strumming! This can be tricky at first, but there's so much fun-to-be-had once you get over the hump. Here's a guide to get you started.

17 lessons

View

Fingerstyle & Travis Picking

Dive into the basics of fingerstyle guitar, with plenty of examples of riffs, exercises, and songs that put this technique to use. This includes a healthy serving of Travis Picking lessons, which feature an alternating bass note played with your right thumb.

31 lessons

View

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.

18 lessons

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

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.

24 lessons

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

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

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

View

Walk Ups & Walk Downs

A very common trope in rock, country, and folk music involves walking bass lines that "connect" one chord to another. I've used this in many of my song lessons, and I'm happy to share this list of related lessons if you'd like to brush up on this technique.

10 lessons

View

CAGED Essentials

Learn about the repeating pattern of shapes on the fretboard, named after the five open chord shapes (C-A-G-E-D). Each shape can be used to play a chord, arpeggio, pentatonic or diatonic scale in every key... which makes them worth knowing!

6 lessons

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

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

May 15, 2025

"Centerfield" by John Fogerty

Two new lessons teaching John Fogerty's classic from 1985! A campfire sing & strum lesson, as well step-by-step guidance teaching you the iconic intro riff.
May 4, 2025

Q&A: Can You Learn Guitar Late In Life?

I often get asked if it's possible to start guitar later in life... and in this video I share feedback I've received from older members of my Song Notes program.
April 25, 2025

"Heaven Passing Through" by Turnpike Troubadours

This amazing song from Turnpike's new album has absolutely swept me away! In my lesson I'll walk you through the main fingerstyle riff in five easy-to-follow steps.
April 19, 2025

[Updated] Jose Feliciano Fingerstyle ft. "California Dreamin'"

I've added 2 new bonus videos, plus updated practice notes, for this amazingly fun fingerstyle piece in the style of Jose Feliciano.
April 18, 2025

[Updated] "Apple Blossom" by White Stripes

I've updated my practice notes and added a slow-playthrough video to this fun minor blues tune from Jack & Meg White.
April 11, 2025

"Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel

Let's dive into this 1972 classic, with a deep-dive on the tricky (but fun) strumming pattern! I'll guide you through it, step-by-step.
April 3, 2025

"Pacing the Cage" by Bruce Cockburn

Let's dive into this poignant gem from Bruce Cockburn, which features an amazingly fun-to-play (but tricky to master) fingerstyle arrangement.
March 28, 2025

West Texas Campfire Fingerstyle Fun

I've updated one of my favorite fingerstyle lessons — which shows how you can add melodic flair to basic chords with easy-going fingerpicking! Brand new PDF and 3 bonus videos added as well.
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.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage

Stuff That Works

Licensed Song Sheet 3 pages

Lesson Discussion

Play-Along Cover

Related Lessons to Help with This Song

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Browse Related Lessons

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Strumming & Rhythm

Fingerstyle & Travis Picking

Blues Starter Kit

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learning Lead Guitar

Beginner Chord Guide

Practical Music Theory

Using a Capo

Walk Ups & Walk Downs

CAGED Essentials

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Capo Captain

Key Master

Blank Tabs

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Recent Lessons