Cowpoke Colter Wall Chords: Colter Wall's 'Cowpoke' Guitar Lesson

With a waltz beat, Colter Wall's 'Cowpoke' is a rather fun song to play. If you are looking for the chords and tabs to play the song, you are at the right place. 

We share the Cowpoke chords here, and we are the step-by-step tutorial to play each part of the song. YouTube video links also show you how each part is played. 

Ready? Let's start.

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Chords Needed

Colter Wall's 'Cowpoke' is surprisingly easy to play, requiring only three chords. These are not very difficult chords too, with only the F a bit of a challenge:

C Chord

You form this chord shape by placing the following:

• your index finger on the first fret of the B string,
• your middle finger on the second fret of the D string and
• your ring finger on the third fret of the A string.

Strum from the fifth string down, omitting the sixth string. Give that a try and see how the chord rings. 

F Chord

The F chord can be played in two forms, barred or open. Depending on your preference, you can play either. 

To form a barred F chord on the guitar, position your finger in the following:

• Index finger across all the strings at the first fret, to create the "barre."
• the middle finger on the second fret of the G string.
• Ring finger on the third fret of the A string.
• Pinky finger on the third fret of the D string.

Ensure your thumb is positioned at the back of the guitar neck to provide support and make applying pressure with your index finger easier. This chord shape is a full barre, requiring some strength and practice.

For the open version, you can use the following position:

• Index finger on the first fret of the B string.
• The middle finger is on the second fret of the G string.
• Ring finger on the third fret of the D string.
• Pinky finger on the third fret of the A string.

For this version of the F chord, you typically only strum the bottom four strings. This shape avoids the barre technique, making it easier for beginners or those struggling with full barre chords.

A minor

To form an Am (A minor) chord on the guitar, position your fingers as such:

• Index finger on the first fret of the B string.
• The middle finger is on the second fret of the D string.
• Ring finger on the second fret of the G string.

You can strum from the open A string downwards when playing the Am chord, avoiding the low E string to maintain the chord's harmonic integrity. 

Intro

The introduction for the song requires you to alternate between C and Am chords:

As for the strumming pattern, it uses waltz beats, meaning you count in threes. You can use the following strumming patterns

DOWN---up-DOWN---up-DOWN---up-DOWN

up-DOWN---up-DOWN---up-DOWN

up-DOWN---up-DOWN---up-DOWN

Capitalized strums are played louder and with emphasis. Every time you finish three beats, you switch to the next chord. Watch the video below for a better idea:

Strumming Pattern  

You can use a simpler version of the strumming pattern above, which is hard to pick up. This simpler strumming pattern reduces the upstrokes:

DOWN---DOWN---DOWN---up-DOWN---

DOWN---DOWN---up-DOWN

DOWN---DOWN---up-DOWN

Simple Strumming Pattern 

Once you figure out the chords and strumming, try playing along with the video below:

Play Along Here 

Verse

When playing the verse, the chord progression is:

C--C--F--C

C--F--C--F

C--C--F--C

C--F--C--Am

When you finish playing the progression, you can play a slow lick to walk from the F to the C chord. This is how you play the lick:

• pick the 3rd fret, 6th string
• pick the open 5th string
• pick the 2nd fret, 5th string
• strum the C chord

See The Lick 

You can continue the chord progression and play the 'humming' section.

Humming Section

For the humming part, you play out the following chord progression:

C--Am--C--Am

C--Am--Am--Am

You can then enter the second verse.

Instrumental Section

The instrumental section uses similar strumming patterns with the following chord progression:

C--F--C--Am

C--F--C--Am

C--F--C--Am

C--F--C--Am

Some Embellishments

If you wish to play the song with more flair and color, consider adding these licks and techniques to your playing:

Walk Up The Chords In Introduction

While alternating between the chords C and Am in the introduction, walk the chords up and down with single notes in between. Here's how you do it:

1. Play the Am chord
2. Pick the 2nd string, at 2nd fret
3. Pick the 2nd string, at the 3rd fret
4. Play the C chord
5. Pick the 2nd string, at 2nd fret
6. Return to Am and repeat.

The picking happens right before you play the chords, between the transitions. Watch the video below for a better idea:

See Example 

Hammer-On The Am Chord At The End Of 'Humming' Section

To signal that you will enter the instrumental section, you can perform a hammer-on at the end of the introduction, specifically at the Am chord. To do this:

1. Play the Am chord
2. After the third strum, lift up your 4th and 3rd string
3. Right after you strum down, return your fingers to the strings for a hammer-on effect

See Example Here  

Bringing Everything Together

Once you have gotten the hang of everything, try to play along to the original song itself:

Cowpoke by Colter Wall   

Spend some time here to master the beat counting and the strumming pace and pattern. Feel free to repeat this to improve your playing. It may help to sing along, too, so perhaps having the lyrics on hand here can help.

Cowpoke By Colter Wall Guitar Lesson 

Colter Wall's 'Cowpoke' is not a very difficult song to play. It is slow and does not require difficult chords and single notes. 

As you play, feel free to adjust the difficulty to your preference. You can keep it simple with simple strums or add some licks and single notes to add color to the song. Enjoy!

Learn how to play all your favorite Country Songs at Learn Guitar Favorites on Youtube!