House of the Rising Sun (harmonic skeleton)
Strumming: 6/8 time: triplet fingerpicking on each beat
Focus: 6/8 triplet fingerpicking + an Am minor progression; your first real workout for the F barre
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 · D · F · E). 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 “6/8 time: triplet fingerpicking on each beat” 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 breath6/8 triplet fingerpicking + an Am minor progression; your first real workout for the F barre。
- 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.”
Practice this in the courses
A course uses this very song as a practice piece — follow it step by step, faster than fumbling on your own:
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 minorWhy is the minor key's dominant a major chord?i…Vi
In A natural minor the V chord should be Em (minor), which sounds soft and gives a weak sense of resolution. Raise it to E major / dominant 7th (E7) and you get a strong pull “wanting to resolve back to Am.” This is harmonic minor — nearly every minor-key song uses it.
Tip: In any minor-key song, always try turning the V into a major or dominant 7th chord — the sense of resolution snaps right into place.
- Rhythm / fingerpicking6/8 triplet arpeggios: the sway of a boat song
Each big beat splits into a three-note arpeggio (thumb on the bass, i·m carrying the higher notes), letting the minor melody flow on like ripples of water — the signature groove of this song.
Don't know these chords? Learn them in the courses
American traditional folk; the melody is public domain. Only the harmonic skeleton is given here (the famous band arrangement and recording are separately copyrighted and not included).