Streets of London

by Ralph McTell • Lesson #534 • Jan 6, 2024

Hey there, friends! In this video I’ll teach you how to play Ralph McTell’s fingerstyle classic, Streets of London. This is a terrifically fun song to play, whether you’re using Travis-style fingerpicking or have a preference for a straightforward strummed version. I’ll teach both approaches – and show you how you can actually combine these playing types (as I do in my full playthrough) to make things a bit more manageable.

My lesson teaches this using capo 4th fret, which is what McTell uses in his album recording. This puts us in the Key of E (if we go by ear), but from a guitar standpoint we’re using Key of C chord shapes (C, F, G, Am, Em). There’s one non-diatonic chord required (D7/F#), but I’ll walk you through that chord to ensure you’re in good shape. Let’s get to it!

  • 0:00 Overview
  • 1:29 Strumming the Verse
  • 3:56 Strumming the Chorus
  • 8:49 Fingerstyle Intro: Melody
  • 14:46 Fingerstyle Intro: Bass Notes
  • 19:04 Fingerstyle Verse
  • 20:50 Fingerstyle Chorus
  • 24:47 Misc. Tips & Advice

Lesson Discussion

Jump in the conversation with other members of the Song Notes community! Post a comment about this lesson, ask a question, or even upload a video of your progress. All skill levels welcome!

View Comments

Jump in the conversation with other members of the Song Notes community! Post a comment about this lesson, ask a question, or even upload a video of your progress. All skill levels welcome!

To access the community forum, upgrade to premium or log in.

Print-Friendly Song Sheet 6 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

Save 50% on this song sheet by applying the April 2024 code at Musicnotes checkout: N7AYZ9ADNV (click to copy). Thanks for being a Premium supporter!

Song Notes Premium includes a 50% discount code you can use when buying any of my licensed song sheets. For the current month's code, upgrade to premium or log in.

Extended Video Lessons

Play-Along Cover

Here’s how I play the song from start to finish, using a mixture of fingerstyle and strumming. Typically, I strum during the verse and chorus sections, which makes things easier to manage. I’ll use fingerstyle during the instrumental portions, where I have a bit more mental bandwidth to spare – and can focus on playing the distinctive fingerstyle riff without messing up.

Only available to Premium members

Upgrade to Premium

Slow Playthrough: Intro Fingerstyle

Only available to Premium members

Upgrade to Premium

Slow Playthrough: Verse Fingerstyle

Only available to Premium members

Upgrade to Premium

Slow Playthrough: Chorus Fingerstyle

Only available to Premium members

Upgrade to Premium

Recordings of Ralph McTell Playing Streets of London

His Original 1969 Album Recording

This video technically is the entire album, but fortunately Streets of London is the first song! Posting this so you can hear exactly how he recorded it (capo 4th fret).

Live version from 2014 (John Williams 70th Birthday Concert)

A very nice guitar duet! The audience singing along (during the chorus sections) is quite magical as well.

McTell Playing it Live 2022

He’s up there in age quite a bit in this video, but it’s great because you can see his fretting hand clearly the entire time. I’m not able to embed this video directly on my site (due to the preferences of the video owner), so you have to view this one directly on YouTube »

Here’s a handful of lessons I’ve made that may help with some of the techniques used in this song. Be sure to check out my Travis Picking page for all my lessons on that topic.

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 222 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? Buy me a beer!

If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).

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

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

  • April 24, 2024

    13 Must-Know Riffs with Droning Strings

    A handy roundup of all the songs I've taught that use droning strings... with a quick breakdown of each riff!

  • April 18, 2024

    "Moonshadow" by Cat Stevens

    Learn how to play Cat Stevens' 1971 classic! I include campfire-friendly chords and strumming, and a step-by-step breakdown of the intro fingerstyle riff.

  • April 9, 2024

    Chords & Music Theory... 9 New Lessons!

    A roundup of a batch of new chord-related video lessons & PDF cheat sheets I just added to my library! Lots of good stuff here, be sure not to miss 'em.

  • March 30, 2024

    Gordon Lightfoot's "Carefree Highway"

    Learn how to play Lightfoot's 1975 classic, with plenty of tips to help simplify some of the quicker chord changes.

  • March 22, 2024

    Lead Guitar & the F1 Theme Song

    Let's look at the catchy Formula 1 theme song and learn how to play it on lead guitar...including handy trick for dealing with the key change.

  • March 15, 2023

    Pink Floyd's "Breathe" - with Simpler Chords Included

    Learn to play through Pink Floyd's 1973 classic! I'll teach the chords they use, while also showing a handful of useful simplifications and riffs to make this work on a single acoustic guitar.

  • March 6, 2024

    Q&A: 8 Tips to Avoid Muting Strings

    If you're frustrated by muffled, muted, or buzzing strings when playing chords, you're not alone! Here's 8 tips to avoid this common issue.

  • March 1, 2024

    Blues Shuffle Riffs - Using Just 2 Strings!

    A step-by-step introduction to blues shuffle riffs in open position, which are an amazingly fun-to-play way to get that blues sound with just a few fingers.

  • February 16, 2024

    Soulful Lead Guitar with "America the Beautiful"

    Here's a few ways to approach playing melodic lead guitar over America is Beautiful - shown both on an acoustic and electric guitar. Lots of fun!

  • February 8, 2024

    Country Honk by The Rolling Stones

    Let's learn how to play The Stones' acoustic & countrified version of Honky Tonk Women — with all the riffs included!

Browse All Recent Lessons →

Browse All My Lessons

By lesson type

By technique

By musical genre

By decade

By musical key

By popular artist


← back to homepage