Sultans of Swing Chords — Guitar Lesson

Sultans of Swing is one of those songs every guitarist should have in their back pocket. I’ve put together a lesson on the full chord progression. It’s a meaty one, but once you see how the sections fit together, it’s more manageable than it looks.

If you want to understand why these chords work so well together, take a look at the guide to chord progressions on guitar. It gives you the theory underneath songs like this one.

The Song Is in D Minor

That’s your starting point. Keep it in mind as you work through the sections.

I use bar chords throughout most of this lesson. That’s my preference. I do show you the open chord options too, so you’ve got choices. Either works, but I find the bar chords give you a cleaner sound for this particular song.

One more thing before you start: I’ve simplified the strumming from the original. The original strum is more complex, and I’d rather you get the chord changes down first. Once those feel natural, the rest comes together.

Three Sections to Learn

Part one of the verse is the core of the song: Dm → C → Bb → A. It runs twice through each time. Don’t rush this one. Get the changes clean before you move on.

Part two of the verse starts on F: F → C → Bb → Dm. That F major bar chord is where most people hit a wall. If bar chords are giving you a hard time in general, spend some time on bar chord technique before coming back. It’ll make this section a lot less frustrating.

The turnaround is Bb → Dm → Bb → C, done twice. Here’s a bit of background on this one. I came up with this arrangement when I was stuck in a three-piece band and couldn’t play both lead and rhythm at the same time. So I combined both parts into a single chord-based version. It’s a little more involved than just playing the rhythm part, but it sounds richer when you’re the only guitar in the room.

The instrumental section is D → C → Bb → C, twice through. It doesn’t appear after every verse. You’ve got to learn the arrangement to know where it fits.

Listen to the Original First

Before you sit down to practice, put the recording on a few times. Get the feel in your ears first: the pacing, how the sections connect. You’ll learn the changes a lot faster when your ear already knows where they’re going.

Once you can move through each section cleanly, try playing along with the original. That’s where you’ll hear what still needs work. And it’s actually a good sign when you can hear what’s off. Means your ear is ahead of your hands. That’s exactly where you want it.

This is an awesome song, boys and girls. Give yourself time to get familiar with the chords. Don’t get too discouraged with it at first. And have fun with it.

If you want more songs to work through like this, the Easy Strum Classics course is a good next step. Drop any questions in the comments below.