Rhythm Deep Dive — "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle

Lesson #569 • Nov 8, 2024


In this video I want to demonstrate my process of working out the tricky rhythm of Guitar Town, the Steve Earle song from 1986. This one came in by request over on my Song Notes community forum, and after listening it immediately grabbed my ear.

While the song is in 4/4 time with just three chords (G,C,D) — the rhythm is anything but simple. Some measures have only three counts, others have two – and in a few cases he’s switching to chords a full quarter note before the strong beat of the “1” count. This makes it memorable and catchy, but very tough to get the hang of.

This video is more of a process video than a step-by-step lesson. You’ll see me work out the rhythm via handwriting on my iPad, listening & rewinding as needed, until I finally arrive at a place of 100% confidence when it comes to how long you stay on each chord.

I do plan on practicing this one & doing a more typical tutorial — stay tuned for that! But I wanted to share this in the meantime, as I think showing this real-time process may be helpful & inspiring to some of you out there. Remember, you too can do this! It takes practice, especially with tricky songs like this… but it can be done.

  • 0:00 Lesson Overview
  • 2:10 Taking Inventory of the Chords
  • 7:19 Verse
  • 18:27 Chorus/Refrain
  • 25:50 Bridge
  • 32:06 Putting It All Together
  • 34:11 Farewell

Instructional PDF 1 page

Follow along with the print-friendly PDF! 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.

Thanks for being a Premium member of Song Notes! Your support makes these lessons possible.

Download PDF

Follow along with the print-friendly PDF!

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.

To download the PDF, upgrade to premium or log in.

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.

Steve Earle Playing “Guitar Town”

Listen to the man himself play things! The second video (below) is the one I use in the main tutorial above.

Album Version (Official Music Video)

Live in Austin (2019)

Other Songs By, or Inspired By, Steve Earle…

You may be interested in Copperhead Road which I did a lesson for back in 2019! Quite the fun song to play.

While it’s not a Steve Earle, I recommend Whitehouse Road by Tyler Childers. Very similar vibe to Copperhead Road, both musically and lyrically.

And this one is a bit more of a stretch, but in lesson #322 I took Green Day’s Welcome to Paradise and did a cover in the style of Steve Earle and/or Tyler Childers. Basically, me taking what I learned in both lessons above and applying it to the Green Day classic. Sharing in case interested!

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 244 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? 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?

Featured Courses

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

  • November 15, 2024

    "Scarlet Begonias" by Grateful Dead

    Let's dive into the 1974 classic from the Dead, with an acoustic-friendly arrangement using Key of G chords! I also show how you can include the catchy riffs wherever they occur, which is great way to channel the full spirit of this song.

  • November 12, 2024

    Does CAGED Help When Learning Songs?

    A quick audience Q&A video, where I talk about how CAGED helps (or does not help) when learning songs. Featuring the main riff from Scarlet Begonias by the Grateful Dead, which I'll be teaching soon!

  • November 8, 2024

    Rhythm Deep Dive: "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle

    Watch the process of me transcribing the rhtyhm of an incredibly tricky song! All shown in real time, in writing. Featuring "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle.

  • Nov 1, 2024

    Website Tour – November 2024

    A look at the state of the Song Notes website, as of November 2024. I've been working on more than just new lessons... check out the latest updates here!

  • Oct 24, 2024

    "Fast Car" - Strumming & Rhythm Guide!

    I've gotten a ton of emails asking how to strum Fast Car — here's a lesson showing 3 possible approaches! You can strum the whole song using what I teach, or combine this with the fingerstyle riff from lesson #494.

  • October 18, 2024

    CAGED - It's More Than Just Chords!

    Learn how each CAGED shape contains not only a chord, but also an arpeggio, pentatonic, and full diatonic scale! This is a must-know realization that'll level up any practice you do with these shapes.

  • October 3, 2024

    Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee"

    In honor of Kris Kristofferson's passing, here's a brand new play-along cover of his 1971 classic Me and Bobby McGee – with some updated strumming tips included.

  • September 27, 2024

    Paul Simon Fingerstyle with "59th Street Bridge Song"

    Let's dive into Simon & Garfunkfel's 1966 hit, where I'll walk you through several ways to tackle Paul Simon's Travis-style fingerpicking.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage