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Crowded Table

by The Highwomen • Lesson #519 • Oct 8, 2023

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you how to play Crowded Table by The Highwomen (2019). This is a song that only requires basic chords and straight-forward strumming, both of which I’ll explain for the verse, chorus, bridge, and intro. While there’s no fancy guitar parts in this song, the timing can be a bit tricky - so I’ll explain that in careful detail.

Special thanks to Song Notes members Nathanael and Kaylyn for requesting this one – I hope y’all find it helpful!

  • 0:00 Playthrough
  • 2:05 Lesson Summary
  • 3:08 Capo & Chords
  • 4:01 Timing & Rhythm
  • 5:41 Verse Strumming
  • 8:14 Chorus Strumming
  • 10:17 Bridge & Intro
  • 13:11 About The Highwomen
  • 14:47 Add’l Lesson Resources

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Licensed Song Sheet 2 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.

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Extended Video Lessons

Vocal Melody

If you, like me, need help with figuring out the exact notes to sing - this video will help you out! I go through the verse, chorus, and bridge melodies. Knowing these precise notes can help you listen, sing, and adjust your vocal pitch to get things just right.

If you’re curious where these notes are coming from - it’s the G major scale (for the verse & chorus) and G mixolydian scale (for the bridge). See my Key of G cheat sheet for a writeup of both of these scales.

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Play-Along Practice

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!

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Recorded Versions of Crowded Table

The Highwomen Album Recording

The first 25 seconds is a rehearsal clip, after which the “official” album recording begins.

Natalie Hemby’s Solo Acoustic Version

I had to include this as well, as Natalie Hemby is the one who originally began writing this song (before being asked to join The Highwomen). Note, she’s playing this with her capo in a different position, and using slightly modified versions of some chords (e.g. her C major is a Cadd9).

Major Key Cheat Sheets! Must-Know Chords, Scales, and Fretboard Diagrams

★ Instructional PDF

F Chord, Made Easy: 7 Alternatives to the Barred Version

★ Instructional PDF

"Highwayman" by The Highwaymen

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