Play Happy Birthday on Guitar

Happy Birthday is the most popular song in the world. It is incredibly easy to learn and play on the guitar, requiring only three basic chords. Learn how to strum it or play it on our virtual guitar online.

The Chords Needed

To sing along and strum Happy Birthday on the guitar, you only need to know three open chords in the key of C Major:

C Major (C): The Root Chord
G Major (G): The Dominant Chord
F Major (F): The Subdominant Chord

*Note: If F Major is too difficult to play as a barre chord, you can play a simplified F Major 7 chord (Fmaj7) which is much friendlier for beginners.*

Melody Notes (Tablature)

If you want to pluck the individual melody notes instead of strumming chords, play these fret numbers on our online guitar simulator:

Happy Birthday to you:

G(0) G(0) A(2) G(0) C(1) B(0)

Happy Birthday to you:

G(0) G(0) A(2) G(0) D(3) C(1)

Numbers in parentheses represent fret positions. E.g., G(0) means playing the open G string. G(2) means pressing the 2nd fret of the G string.

Strumming Pattern & Lyrics

Happy Birthday is in 3/4 time (waltz time). Strum: **Down, Down, Up, Down** (1, 2, & 3).

[C] [G] Happy Birthday to you, [C] Happy Birthday to you, [F] Happy Birthday dear friend, [C] [G] [C] Happy Birthday to you!

Watch Autopilot Play this Song

Open our virtual guitar simulator, expand the AI Song Player panel, and click "Happy Birthday" to watch and listen to the autopilot play it instantly.

Open Autopilot Simulator