Arirang (아리랑)
Strumming: 3/4 waltz strum & sing
Focus: a 3/4 major-pentatonic melody for strum & sing, lyrical expression
Transpose · Capo
The original key is inferred from the first chord in the chart. Transposing changes the chords you have to play; to keep easy shapes, switch to “Capo” instead.
💡 Too high to sing? Move down. Too low? Move up. Guys often go a few keys below the original, women a bit above — that's just a starting point. You've got it right when you can sing the highest line of the chorus comfortably.
Chords in this song
✦ = harder to play (mostly barre); try a capoChord progression
Play-along
Chords change automatically to the beat (following the current key C). Get it smooth slowly, then speed up.
One bar of count-in first, then the chord changes automatically each bar. Get it smooth slowly, then speed up bit by bit.
Practice ladder · from playing it to playing it well
Not sure how to practice? Follow these four steps — each has a clear goal and a concrete method.
- 1
Get the chords ringing
Goal: every chord clear, no buzzingGet this song's 4 chords ringing one by one and switchable (C · F · G · Am). Press each alone first, then switch in pairs; for any that won't ring, scroll to “Don't know these chords?” below, or use the chord-change timer for a one-minute challenge.
- 2
Play it through in time
Goal: no stalls with the metronome, start to finishUsing the “3/4 waltz strum & sing” strum, open the metronome and connect the whole song from a slow tempo, no pausing on the changes; while you're at it, spot which chord progression it follows.
- 3
Play it with feel
Goal: dynamics and a sense of breatha 3/4 major-pentatonic melody for strum & sing, lyrical expression。
- 4
Own it & make it yours
Goal: explain why it works and change up your own versionUnderstand why the harmony goes the way it does, then use the Transpose / Capo control above to change keys, and try reworking the rhythm, adding color chords or improvising — turn “I can play this one” into “I can play many.”
The progression behind this song
Recognize this go-to progression and you can play loads of songs by analogy:
Music theory deep dive
Key: C majorUnderstanding why a song's harmony moves the way it does matters more than memorizing the chords.
Structure
Chord function
Function: Tonic= the stable home · Subdominant= sets up the departure · Dominant= tension that wants to come home. Harmony is the story of leaving → tension → coming home.
Highlights
- Modal comparisonFourth stop on the East Asian pentatonic tour: Arirang wraps it up
Arirang's melody is also a half-step-free pentatonic — of the same family as “Jasmine Flower,” bright and spacious; and just the opposite of “Sakura's” dark “Miyako-bushi” that hides two half steps. Read the analyses of “Jasmine Flower,” “Fengyang Huagu,” “Sakura,” and “Arirang” together: the presence or absence of half steps is the watershed of East Asian folk-song character.
- ProgressionThe chorus is 1645: a century-old folk song meets doo-wopIviIVV
The chorus's first four bars C–Am–F–G are, note for note, I–vi–IV–V — the progression of “Stand By Me.” The century-old folk song of the Korean Peninsula and 1950s American street-corner harmony walked the same line, and it's no coincidence: the vi chord Am is the tonic of C's relative minor, inserted after I to add a touch of softness, then pushed home through IV–V — a path the ear naturally loves to hear.
- Playing approachOom-pah-pah, four-chord version: let the bass walk into a line of its own
The triple-time accompaniment is still that “oom—pah—pah” set from the “Clementine” analysis, but this tune has four chords, so the “oom” has to find each root: C on the 5th string 3rd fret, Am on the open 5th string, F on the 6th string 1st fret (barre) or the simplified shape's 4th string 3rd fret, G on the 6th string 3rd fret. The bass moves house one by one, and it sounds like a walking bass line — the skeleton of the waltz is all on the thumb side of the left hand.
Tip: The chorus opening C→Am is the smoothest: the “oom” shifts from the 5th string 3rd fret to the open 5th string, done on the same string — drill this step smooth first.
Don't know these chords? Learn them in the courses
Korean Peninsula traditional folk song (a signature folk tune), public domain.