Blues Brothers - Sweet Home Chicago - Guitar Tab

The Blues Brothers Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

1980 7:53

Listen on Spotify

About Sweet Home Chicago

Few blues standards get as much stage time as "Sweet Home Chicago," and the Blues Brothers version is probably the one that introduced it to the widest modern audience. Running at 120 BPM in E major, it sits in a comfortable groove that rewards a confident shuffle feel in your right hand. The core challenge is not speed but feel: keeping that laid-back, behind-the-beat swing while nailing the turnaround at the end of each 12-bar cycle. Those turnarounds are where beginners lose the thread, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop just that two-bar section slowed down until your fingers stop hesitating. The rhythm guitar part leans heavily on open-position E-shape chord stabs and sliding dominant seventh voicings, all in Blues Rock territory that connects directly to Robert Johnson's original 1936 recording. Once the chords feel automatic, work on adding small fills between vocal phrases to really inhabit the style.

• The song is built on a 12-bar blues in E, making open-position dominant seventh chords like E7, A7, and B7 the essential shapes to have under your fingers.
• The shuffle rhythm pattern demands a consistent swing eighth-note feel, so practice your strumming hand independently before adding chord changes.
• Turnaround licks at the end of each 12-bar cycle are the trickiest moments; looping them slowed down with the Practice Toolbar will help lock in the timing.