“With or Without You” is one of those songs that sounds impressive but is actually pretty approachable once you know the secret. It uses just four chords in a repeating pattern, and I’m going to show you a few different ways to play it depending on your skill level.
The Four Chords You Need
The progression is D – A – Bm – G. Each chord gets one full bar, so you’re playing a four-bar phrase that just repeats through the whole song. Simple as that.
Now, if that B minor barre chord is giving you trouble, don’t sweat it. There’s a simpler way.
The Power Chord Version (Easiest)
When I start beginners on this song, I teach power chords first. A power chord is just two notes — the root and the fifth — and it works as a stand-in for the full chord. You’re basically playing the skeleton of the chord.
So you start with D5, slide straight across to A5 (same fret, just on the lower strings), move up two frets for B5, then drop all the way down to the 3rd fret for G5.
One thing to watch — when you’re playing power chords, you’ve got to mute the strings you’re not using. If you strum through and let those other strings ring out, especially with any distortion, it’ll sound muddy. I’m not actually barring when I play these. My finger is just touching the unused strings enough to keep them quiet.
The Open Chord Version
If you want an even easier starting point, you can play open versions:
D is your standard open D. A is open A. For the B minor, you can simplify it to just a few strings — don’t worry about getting the full barre right away. And G is your basic open G.
The open version doesn’t have quite the same punch as playing it up the neck, but if you’re really struggling as a player, this is a good place to start because you don’t need many fingers to pull it off.
The Strumming Pattern
Keep it simple — all downstrokes. Count “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and” and hit a downstroke on every beat and every “and.” Each chord lasts one full bar before you switch to the next.
Once you get comfortable, you can start mixing things up. Play the power chord for a bar, then switch to the open chord, then maybe throw in a barre chord. That’s how you create dynamics and keep it interesting.
Putting It Together
This chord progression — D, A, Bm, G — shows up everywhere in pop and rock music. Once you’ve got it down for this song, you’ll recognize it in dozens of others. It’s a great jam tune too. I’ve had three guitars playing three different versions at once and it sounds massive.
Take your time with it. Start with whichever version feels most comfortable, then work your way up to the others. If you liked this one, check out Wonderful Tonight or Simple Man — two more classics at a similar level. You’ll find these and more in the easy guitar songs section, or browse my full guitar song library for more lessons.
