Greensleeves
Strumming: 3/4 time: fingerpicking or a slow strum
Focus: 3/4 fingerpicking + minor chords and E7; the melody is also great to work up as classical fingerstyle
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 A). 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 5 chords ringing one by one and switchable (Am · C · G · Em · E7). 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 time: fingerpicking or a slow strum” strum, open the metronome and connect the whole song from a slow tempo, no pausing on the changes.
- 3
Play it with feel
Goal: dynamics and a sense of breath3/4 fingerpicking + minor chords and E7; the melody is also great to work up as classical fingerstyle。
- 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.”
Music theory deep dive
Key: A minorUnderstanding 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
- Harmonic minorEm and E7 in the same song: soft dominant vs. strong dominantvV7i
The most valuable lesson in “Greensleeves”: the fifth degree shows two faces. The middle of the phrase uses Em (v, minor) — from natural minor, gentle, with a weak sense of return; but each section ends by switching to E7 (V7, dominant 7th) — the raised leading tone ♯G aches to resolve back to Am, closing the phrase decisively. One soft, one strong — the clearest contrast of “natural minor vs. harmonic minor.”
Tip: Compare Em → Am against E7 → Am: listen to how that raised leading tone turns “coming home” from vague to certain.
- Minor-key colori–♭III–♭VII: borrowing the relative major to “breathe”i♭III♭VII
The opening Am–C–G (i–♭III–♭VII) borrows the brightness of the relative major C (♭III) and the openness of G (♭VII), keeping the minor key from sinking all the way down. This “minor tonic + two chords of the relative major” is how countless traditional minor-key folk songs breathe — light within the melancholy.
- CadenceE7→Am: a textbook minor-key authentic cadenceV7i
Every section ends with E7→Am (V7→i), the most powerful “authentic cadence” in a minor key. The raised leading tone ♯G in the dominant 7th resolves up a half step to the tonic A, giving the certain close of “a sentence finished” — nearly all minor-key classical / folk relies on it to “close.”
Tip: Strum or arpeggiate slowly in 3/4, and play that last E7→Am of each section clearly, slowing slightly — that gives the fullest sense of closure.
Don't know these chords? Learn them in the courses
A 16th-century English traditional tune, public domain. In 3/4 time with a simplified chord progression; the beautiful melody is often arranged as classical fingerstyle.