Happy Birthday Guitar Chords
Key of G 3/4 100 BPM 3 chords: G D C Beginner
The 3 chords of Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday is the song you will be asked to play most often, and it takes only three chords: G, D and C. It is in three beats, like a little waltz, and it starts on "Happy" before the first chord, so count "one, two" and come in on beat three. This page puts every chord over its word and lays out the eight bars, with a guitar that strums along at the speed you pick. Practise the change from G to D until it is automatic, and you will be ready for the next party - in G for most voices, or with a capo if the room sings higher.
Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right), numbers are fingers. Tap a chord for every other way to play it.
Happy Birthday chords and lyrics
Each chord sits over the word where it changes. Keep strumming the same chord until the next one. Song credits: Melody by Mildred J. Hill (1893), traditional birthday words.
How to strum Happy Birthday
The song is in 3/4: 3 beats in every bar. Count them aloud, and strum down on the numbers and up on the "and".
Easy
Full
Three beats per bar: down on 1, down-up on 2 and 3. For a party, one strum on each beat keeps everybody together.
Tips for Happy Birthday on guitar
The chords
G, D and C. The order is G, D, D, G, G, C, then G and D in the same bar, and G.
The tricky part
The pickup: "Happy" comes before the first chord. Strum the G on "birth-" and keep the strum steady even if the singers rush.
Change the key
To sing higher, keep the same shapes and put a capo on fret 2, which raises the song a whole step, or on fret 4 for two whole steps. The chords on this page and the guitar above stay the same; only the pitch changes.
The story of Happy Birthday
The melody comes from Good Morning to All, a song for kindergarten children published in 1893 by the sisters Mildred and Patty Hill, two teachers from Kentucky. The birthday words appeared in songbooks in the early 20th century.
Its copyright was disputed for decades; in 2015 a US court ruled that the claim on the words was not valid, and the song is now in the public domain in the United States and the European Union.
Source: Melody: Mildred J. Hill, Good Morning to All (1893), public domain; birthday words traditional; chords in G by GOONS Studio.
Frequently asked
What are the chords to Happy Birthday on guitar?
In G: G, D, D, G, G, C, G-D, G. Three open chords that every beginner learns early.
Is Happy Birthday in the public domain?
Yes. In 2015 a US court ruled that the copyright claim on the words was invalid, and in the European Union the song entered the public domain in 2017.
What key should I play Happy Birthday in?
G suits most groups. If people sing too low or too high, keep the shapes and move a capo: fret 2 for A, fret 3 for B flat.
Record your own Happy Birthday
The guitar on this page is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds the rest of the band in the browser - drum machines, a bass, a sampled piano and a sequencer - to record your own version of the song, with a 7-day free trial, no card required.