Log In My Account Join Upgrade Premium VIP Beta Tester Free Trial
Menu Search Join VIP Beta Tester Premium
 

Guitar lesson for "Africa" by Toto

Video lesson

I haven’t made one yet! If you want to request I make a video lesson for this song, send me an email: play.songnotes [at] gmail [dot] com. That will certainly help bump it toward the top of my list.

In the meantime, here’s an epic cover of this song by Mike Masse and Jeff Hall. This is what I modeled a lot of this lesson after:

Looking for a Print-Friendly Guide?

This is one of my few lessons that doesn't have a printable song sheet / PDF available. If you'd like to request I make one, let me know by clicking the button below! If there's enough demand I'll bump it toward the top of the list.

Click to Request

Lyrics w/ chords

(capo 2nd fret)

INTRO
    G ..... Bm .........  x4, with guitar riff

VERSE
    A                   C#m       F#m
    ...I hear the drums echoing tonight
    F#m/E          G                Bm           F#m   G     Bm
    She hears only whispers of some quiet conversa-----tion

    A               C#m               F#m
    ...She's coming in, twelve thirty flight
        F#m/E           G                    Bm                  F#m   G    Bm
    The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salva----tion

    A               C#m               F#m
    ...I stopped an old man along the way
    F#m/E               G             Bm               F#m      G     Bm
    Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient mel-----odies

    A               C#m         F#m
    ...He turned to me as if to say
     F#m/E           G                          Bm
    "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you..."

CHORUS
        Em                   C               G        D
        ...It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
        Em                        C              G               D
        ...There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
        Em             C             G   D
        ...I bless the rains down in Africa
        Em                 C              G
        ...Gonna take some time to do the things we never
        Bm     D    Em     D   G      Bm
        Had--------------- oo, ooo...

                    (begin intro riff on final G & Bm, repeat intro as desired)

    A                C#m            F#m
    ...The wild dogs cry out in the night
       F#m/E              G                Bm       F#m      G   Bm
    As they grow restless longing for some solitary co----mpany

    A              C#m              F#m
    ...I know that I must do what's right
               F#m/E       G           Bm               F#m        G   Bm
    As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Ser----engeti

    A            C#m                F#m
    ...I seek to cure what's deep inside...
       F#m/E              G                       Bm
    ...Frightened of this thing that I've become

        Em                   C               G        D
        ...It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
        Em                        C              G               D
        ...There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
        Em             C             G   D
        ...I bless the rains down in Africa
        Em                 C              G
        ...Gonna take some time to do the things we never
        Bm     D    Em     D   G      Bm
        Had--------------- oo, ooo...

                    (begin intro riff on final G & Bm, repeat intro as desired)

    (instrumental verse / solo)

    A  C#m  F#m  F#m/E            G                      Bm
    .............Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you

        Em                   C               G        D
        ...It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
        Em                        C              G               D
        ...There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
        Em             C             G   D
        ...I bless the rains down in Africa
        Em             C             G   D
        ...I bless the rains down in Africa
        Em             C             G   D
        ...I bless the rains down in Africa
        Em             C             G   D
        ...I bless the rains down in Africa
        Em                 C              G
        ...Gonna take some time to do the things we never
        Bm     D    Em     D   G      Bm
        Had--------------- oo, ooo...

                    (begin intro riff on final G & Bm, repeat intro to end)

Capo 2nd fret, standard tuning

This transcription assumes you’re using a capo on the 2nd fret and in standard tuning. This allows you to play along with the Toto version heard on the record. As always – you don’t need a capo at all – it merely lets you use these comfortable chords and be in the same key as the original artist. Feel free to use no capo, or apply the capo to whichever fret you like (to suit your voice) otherwise.

Guitar chords

Here is how you play the guitar chords used in this song.

e-|---0-----4-----2------2-----3-----2-----0----0----2----
B-|---2-----5-----2------2-----0-----3-----0----1----3----
G-|---2-----6-----2------2-----0-----4-----0----0----2----
D-|---2-----6-----4------4-----0-----4-----2----2----0----
A-|---0-----4-----4------4-----2-----2-----2----3---------
E-|---------------2------0-----3-----------0--------------
      A    C#m   F#m   F#m/E   G     Bm    Em   C    D

Guitar intro tab

Here’s a few ways you can play the distinctive intro to this song on the guitar. This first way transitions from a standard open G-chord position into the B minor. As you practice this, try to minimize the movement of your index finger on the fretboard – the transition from the F# bass note to the Bm-chord should ideally be as smooth as possible. As always, listen along for the exact rhythm.

e-|-------------------------------2----2----2----2---|-
B-|-------------------------------3----3----3----3---|-
G-|-------------------------------4----4----4----4---|-
D-|---0----------------------x----4----4----4----4---|-  ...repeat
A-|---2----------------------x----2----2----2----2---|-
E-|---3-----3--3-----3--3----2-----------------------|-
      G                           Bm

Alternatively, you can position your left hand in a power chord shape for the G and F# chords, which makes the initial transition a bit easier. You do lose a bit of the G-major tonality though, since you’re not playing the 3rd tone of the G major chord. Still, this is a perfect valid way to play this section.

e-|----------------------------------2----2----2----2---|-
B-|----------------------------------3----3----3----3---|-
G-|---4------------------------------4----4----4----4---|-
D-|---5-----5--5-----5--5----4-------4----4----4----4---|-  ...repeat
A-|---5-----5--5-----5--5----4-------2----2----2----2---|-
E-|---3-----3--3-----3--3----2--------------------------|-
      G                      F#5     Bm

Chord progressions

If we ignore the lyrics for a moment, here’s a look at the chord progressions for the entire song. I’ve mapped these out measure by measure, so you can get a big picture view on how the timing works. Personally, this always helps me memorize things quite a bit more quickly.

INTRO
| G . . . . F#5 | Bm . . . | Bm . . . . . |
                                 ...repeat, with guitar riff

VERSE
"I hear the drums echoing tonight..."
| A . . . | C#m . . . | F#m . . . | F#m/E . . . |
| G . . . | Bm  . . . | F#m . . . | G     . . . | G . Bm . |
                                         ...repeat as needed

CHORUS
"It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you..."
| Em . . . | C . . . | G  . . . | D . . . |
| Em . . . | C . . . | G  . . . | D . . . |
| Em . . . | C . . . | G  . . . | D . . . |
| Em . . . | C . . . | Bm . . . | D . . . |
| Em . . D |
               ...begin intro riff immediately after final D

Good luck!

I hope this lesson is helpful to you. If you have any questions or requests, let me know!

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 269 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

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
Most Popular
Beginner-Friendly
Browse by Artist
Browse by Song Title
Browse by Song Year

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

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage