Log In My Account Join Upgrade Premium VIP Beta Tester Free Trial
Menu Search Join VIP Beta Tester Premium
 

Home ❯ Songs ❯

← Prev Song Next Song →

Danny's Song

by Loggins and Messina • Lesson #95 • Aug 25, 2017

Video lesson

Licensed Song Sheet 2 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.

Buy at Musicnotes.com

Save 50% on this song sheet by applying the May 2024 code at Musicnotes checkout: C8A65MHA25 (click to copy). Thanks for being a Premium supporter!

Song Notes Premium includes a 50% discount code you can use when buying any of my licensed song sheets. For the current month's code, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’s notes

In this lesson I’ll show you how to play the song “Danny’s Song” by Loggins & Messina. I’ll include the chords needed, progressions used, strumming pattern, and of course fingerpicking tabs to get you started with things. To follow along with my video, I suggest picking up the 4-page song sheet linked above. It has all the lyrics and chords on page 1, while also digging into the progression, fingerstyle, and strumming on page 2. Pages 3 and 4 give you tabs for the entire song, including my exact fingerstyle tab.

Chords needed

Standard stuff here, the one exception being the D/C variant I prefer to play for the C-major used throughout the song. For one, it’s easier to switch to. For two, it’s sounds a bit more unique and interesting than a normal C-major. Use it or not, as per your taste.

E ––––2––––0––––2––––0––––0––––3––––0––––
B ––––3––––1––––3––––3––––2––––0––––3––––
G ––––2––––0––––4––––1––––2––––0––––2––––
D ––––0––––2––––4––––2––––2––––0––––0––––
A –––––––––3––––2––––2––––0––––2––––3––––
E –––––––––––––––––––0–––––––––3–––––––––
      D    C    Bm   E7   A    G   D/C

Fingerpicking pattern

Here’s a bit to get you started if you want to fingerpick the song. I’ll start with the intro, which uses only the D chord (played for four measures):

E ––––––––––2––––––––––2––––––––––2––––––––––2–––  <-- right ring
B –––––3––––––––––3––––––––––3––––––––––3––––––––  <-- right middle
G ––––––––2––––––––––2––––––––––2––––––––––2–––––  <-- right index
D –––0––––––––––0––––––––––0––––––––––0––––––––––  <-- right thumb
A –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
E –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
     D

For a simple fingerpicking approach for the entire song, just use this same pattern on all chords you play. It is important you strum the bass note of each chord first – whether that’s the 4th string, 5th string, or 6th string. Afterwards, position your index, middle, and ring fingers freely – but try to use this same pattern.

Here’s the general patterns I use, in a few different contexts (based on the bass note of the chord):

E ––––––––––x–––        E ––––––––––––––        E ––––––––––––––
B –––––x––––––––        B ––––––––––x–––        B ––––––––––x–––
G ––––––––x–––––        G –––––x––––––––        G –––––x––––––––
D –––x––––––––––   or   D ––––––––x–––––   or   D ––––––––x–––––
A ––––––––––––––        A –––x––––––––––        A ––––––––––––––
E ––––––––––––––        E ––––––––––––––        E –––x––––––––––

And here are specific examples, per chords in the actual song:

E ––––––––––2–––        E ––––––––––––––        E ––––––––––––––
B –––––3––––––––        B ––––––––––3–––        B ––––––––––3–––
G ––––––––2–––––        G –––––4––––––––        G –––––1––––––––
D –––0––––––––––   or   D ––––––––4–––––   or   D ––––––––2–––––
A ––––––––––––––        A –––2––––––––––        A ––––––––––––––
E ––––––––––––––        E ––––––––––––––        E –––0––––––––––
     D                       Bm                      E7

See my video lesson for context. Don’t over think it! I’m sure you could get wild and crazy complicated with this - but for now, I want to get you started with what’s above.

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 225 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

Browse Related Lessons

Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:

Enjoy my lessons? Buy me a beer!

If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Key Master

See and hear the notes, chords, scales used in each of the most common keys.

View

Blank Tabs

Free PDF templates to download, print, and write out your own guitar tabs!

View

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!

Recent Lessons

  • May 10, 2024

    "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell

    Let's dive into Glen Campbell's all-time classic from 1968, originally written by Jimmy Webb. I teach this with capo 5th fret, using easier-to-manage Key of C chords.

  • May 1, 2024

    Tour of My New "KeyMaster" Web Tool

    My new interactive web tool lets you see and hear the notes, chords, and common progressions in all of the most common keys. Super helpful!

  • April 24, 2024

    13 Must-Know Riffs with Droning Strings

    A handy roundup of all the songs I've taught that use droning strings... with a quick breakdown of each riff!

  • April 18, 2024

    "Moonshadow" by Cat Stevens

    Learn how to play Cat Stevens' 1971 classic! I include campfire-friendly chords and strumming, and a step-by-step breakdown of the intro fingerstyle riff.

  • April 12, 2024

    Playing Songs "Correctly" vs. When to Cut Corners

    When learning songs, are we allowed to simplify things? Do we always need to play things exactly as they're recorded? Here's some quick thoughts!

  • April 9, 2024

    Chords & Music Theory... 9 New Lessons!

    A roundup of a batch of new chord-related video lessons & PDF cheat sheets I just added to my library! Lots of good stuff here, be sure not to miss 'em.

  • March 30, 2024

    Gordon Lightfoot's "Carefree Highway"

    Learn how to play Lightfoot's 1975 classic, with plenty of tips to help simplify some of the quicker chord changes.

  • March 22, 2024

    Lead Guitar & the F1 Theme Song

    Let's look at the catchy Formula 1 theme song and learn how to play it on lead guitar...including handy trick for dealing with the key change.

  • March 15, 2023

    Pink Floyd's "Breathe" - with Simpler Chords Included

    Learn to play through Pink Floyd's 1973 classic! I'll teach the chords they use, while also showing a handful of useful simplifications and riffs to make this work on a single acoustic guitar.

  • March 6, 2024

    Q&A: 8 Tips to Avoid Muting Strings

    If you're frustrated by muffled, muted, or buzzing strings when playing chords, you're not alone! Here's 8 tips to avoid this common issue.

  • March 1, 2024

    Blues Shuffle Riffs - Using Just 2 Strings!

    A step-by-step introduction to blues shuffle riffs in open position, which are an amazingly fun-to-play way to get that blues sound with just a few fingers.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

Browse All My Lessons

By lesson type

By technique

By musical genre

By decade

By musical key

By popular artist

← back to homepage