Yankee Doodle Guitar Chords
Key of G 4/4 112 BPM 3 chords: G D C Beginner
The 3 chords of Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle is a bright marching tune that children love, and on guitar it takes only three chords: G, C and D. The verse and the chorus are four bars each, with the chords changing quickly near the end of each line, which makes it a good, cheerful exercise for chord changes in time. This chord sheet has two verses and the chorus with every chord above its word. Strum it crisply, down on every beat like a drum, and speed it up once the changes feel easy: it should sound like a fife and drum band marching through town.
Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right), numbers are fingers. Tap a chord for every other way to play it.
Yankee Doodle chords and lyrics
Each chord sits over the word where it changes. Keep strumming the same chord until the next one. Song credits: Traditional American song (18th century).
How to strum Yankee Doodle
The song is in 4/4: 4 beats in every bar. Count them aloud, and strum down on the numbers and up on the "and".
Easy
Full
Four beats per bar, bright and even: four down strums, or down-up on every beat for more bounce.
Tips for Yankee Doodle on guitar
The chords
G, C and D. The last two bars of each line hold two chords each.
The tricky part
G to C to D to G in two bars at the end of the verse. Practise that turnaround slowly on its own.
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 Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle goes back to the years before the American Revolution, when British officers sang it to mock the colonial soldiers. The Americans adopted it as their own and sang it back with pride.
A "macaroni" was a young man who followed the latest Italian fashion: sticking a feather in a cap and calling it macaroni is the joke. Today it is the state song of Connecticut.
Source: Traditional American song (18th century), public domain; chords in G by GOONS Studio.
Frequently asked
What are the chords to Yankee Doodle on guitar?
In G. Verse: G, D, G-C, D-G. Chorus: C, G, C-G, D-G. Three open chords.
What does macaroni mean in Yankee Doodle?
In 18th-century England a macaroni was a fashionable young man in the Italian style. The song laughs at a country Yankee who thinks a feather in his cap makes him one.
Is Yankee Doodle good for kids learning guitar?
Yes: three chords, a tune they know, and a steady marching beat. Slow it down with the tempo control to start.
Record your own Yankee Doodle
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.