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And It's Still Alright

by Nathaniel Rateliff • Lesson #553 • Jun 7, 2024

In today’s lesson I’ll teach you how to play And It’s Still Alright, the amazingly powerful song from Nathaniel Rateliff. On the surface this seems like a simple 4-chord strummer, but there’s a fair number of tricky bits I’ll guide you through in my lesson. I’ll explain the chord progression, show you some ways to add flourish the chords, teach the intro riff, and teach some advanced strumming techniques Rateliff uses — should you really want to level things up. Let’s get into it!

  • 0:00 Playthrough
  • 2:07 Capo and Chords
  • 4:07 Verse
  • 7:27 Chorus
  • 9:08 Bridge
  • 11:24 Strumming Pattern
  • 14:10 Intro Riff
  • 19:10 Advanced Strumming Tips

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Practice Notes 5 pages

It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

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Download PDF

Here's a print-friendly PDF I made with all of my practice notes for this lesson. This lets you follow along with everything I show in video tutorial at your own pace.

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If you’re looking for a write-up of the complete lyrics and chords, here’s what I recommend:


Bonus Tutorial Videos

Demonstration with Simple Strumming

Here’s me playing each section of the song (intro, verse, chorus, bridge) using the simplest possible strum. I recommend mastering this before attempting to use the moderate strumming pattern.

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Demonstration with Moderate Strumming

Same as above, but with the strumming leveled up to use the moderate strumming pattern. This makes it feel like a proper song!

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Demonstration with Advanced Strumming

Same as above, but I’m also using a few of the advanced rhythmic techniques Rateliff uses. Specifically, continuous strum (during the intro and parts of the chorus) as well as the accented up-strums — which are used in select places to great affect.

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Full Play-Along Cover

Watch me play the entire song from start to finish, using everything I teach you in this lesson. All verses included, along with the bridge. This is how it sounds when you put it all together!

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Here’s a few lessons I’ve made that will help with techniques used in this song:

G-chord finger position guide

★ Instructional PDF

Strumming with Accented Notes - A Getting Started Guide

★ Instructional PDF

Strumming Q&A: Lighter Strums, Pick Rotation, and Gap Between Fingers

Bass Note Strumming (Essential Technique)

★ Instructional PDF


Nathaniel Rateliff Performances

Official Album Recording (2020)

Live from On the Farm Sessions (2022)


More About Nathaniel Rateliff

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