Songs · Guitar · Beginner
Hard Times Come Again No More
Stephen Collins Foster (1826–1864) · Parlor song, published in 1854
Guitar · folkstrummingG major4/4 time16 barsstandard tuningstarts with a pickup
Arranged: Teddy Rook Book: Foster’s melody moved from E-flat to G, where the open chords G, C and D lie under the hand, with chords taken from his piano part (simplified).
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About this piece
One of the great American songs: a gentle, hymn-like tune about remembering people who are going through hard days. It has been sung around campfires and at gatherings for more than 150 years. Learn the tune first (it stays on the top three strings), then strum the chords with the folk strum. When a bar has two or three chords, change on the beat the chord line shows, and keep the hand moving.
What it practices
- G, C, D, D7, Am and G6 chords
- the folk strum
- changing chords in the middle of a bar
- a tune on the top three strings
Chords in this song
Each link opens the chord finder with more ways to play that chord.
Where the notes come from
Melody and harmony checked against the Mutopia Project edition of “Hard Times Come Again No More” (voice and piano, from Foster’s Melodies, New York: Horace Waters; public domain), read twice. Moved from E-flat major to G major (down a minor sixth, in the guitar’s octave); chords simplified from Foster’s bass line.
How to practice with it
- Listen first. Press Play and follow along. The note being played lights up in the tab, in the notation and on the fretboard, and the chord being played lights up in the row of chord diagrams.
- Learn the chords. Press each diagram to hear it, then practice changing between them slowly, before you add the strum pattern under the tab.
- Slow it down. Use − and + to set the tempo. 60% is a good place to start; the notes keep their pitch.
- One part at a time. Choose Tab only to hear the tune alone, or the other part alone, then put them together.
- Loop the hard part. Under More…, turn on Loop, pick the bars, and play them a few times in a row. Count-in gives you a bar of clicks before it starts.
Click a bar in the music to start from there. Space plays and pauses. Left-handed? Turn on the left-handed view: the chord diagrams and the fretboard are mirrored to match your instrument. Tab reads the same either way: the top line is always the first (highest) string.