How to Play My Girl Chords by The Temptations on Guitar

“My Girl” is one of the most iconic songs by the legendary Motown group The Temptations. It was released in 1964 and became their first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, and features a catchy melody, soulful vocals, and a memorable bass line.

If you want to learn how to play “My Girl” on guitar, you will need to know some basic chords, a simple strumming pattern, and a few guitar licks. In this article, we will show you how to play the song in the original key of C, as well as how to transpose it to the key of D for the final chorus. We will also provide you with some tips and tricks to make your playing sound more authentic and expressive.

The Chords

The chords for “My Girl” are relatively easy and common. You will need to know how to play the following chords:

Bass Intro
     1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
G --|----------------|
D 5-|------5-------5-|
A --|3-3-----3-3-----|
E --|----------------|  x4
 
 
Guitar lick: - first bar (C chord only) is repeated in Intro and Instrumental
             - the combination of C and F parts is used in the Verses
 
easy (first position, no shifting)         more like the original (no open strings)
  C                F                        C                F
  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +          1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
e|----------------|----------------|      e|----------------|----------------|
B|--------------1-|----------------|      B|----------------|----------------|
G|----------0-2---|----------------|      G|--------------5-|----------------|
D|------0-2-------|------------0-3-|      D|----------5-7---|--------------3-|
A|3---------------|--------0-3-----|      A|3-----5-7-------|----------3-5---|
E|----------------|1-----3---------|      E|----------------|1-----3-5-------|
 
 
[Intro]
|  C  |  %  |  %  |  %  |
  (Bass)    (+ Verse lick)
 
[Verse 1]
         C       F        C        F
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day
             C            F              C             F
And when it's cold outside, I've got the month of May
 
[Chorus]
C Dm7   F   G
I guess you say,
C        Dm7     F         G
What can make me feel this way?
C(maj7)
My girl ...            1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
             Dm7     | G N.C.  F F G G |
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)
 
[Verse 2]
(F) (G)  C      F                  C      F
I've got so much honey, the bees envy me
          C             F                  C          F
I've got a sweeter song, than the birds in the trees
 
[Chorus]
      C Dm7   F   G
Well, I guess you say,
C        Dm7     F         G
What can make me feel this way?
C(maj7)
My girl ...            1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
             Dm7     | G N.C.  F F G G |
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)
 
[Instrumental] = Intro
|  C  |  %  |  %  |  %  |
  (Bass)    (+ Verse lick)
 
[Solo]
C     F           C
         Hey hey hey
      F           Dm7
         Hey hey hey
|(Dm7)  | G     | Em    | A A A
                             (break)
[Verse 3]
        D             G        D        G
I don't need no money, fortune or fame
        D                    G         D          G
I've got all the riches, baby, one man can claim
 
[Chorus]
      D Em    G   A
Well, I guess you say,
D        Em      G         A
What can make me feel this way?
Dmaj7
My girl ...            (Walk down on the bass)
             Em         A  G  F#m      Em   Dmaj7
Talkin' 'bout my girl         Talking 'bout my girl
 
[Outro]
Dmaj7                                     Em
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day with my girl
     A    G       F#m      Em       Dmaj7
I've even got the month of May with my girl
                  Em                            A  G  F#m  Em
Talking 'bout, talking 'bout, talking 'bout my girl
Dmaj7
(My girl) My girl

You can use a capo on the first fret to make the F and F# minor chords easier to play, or you can use barre chords instead. You can also substitute some of these chords with different voicings or variations, such as Cmaj7 (x32000), Dm7 (xx0211), Em7 (020000), or A9 (x02423).

The Strumming Pattern

The strumming pattern for “My Girl” is fairly simple and consistent throughout the song. You can use a basic down-up-down-up pattern for each chord, or you can add some accents and syncopation to make it more groovy and rhythmic. Here is an example of a possible strumming pattern for the song


You can also try to mimic the bass line with your strumming hand by playing the root note of each chord on the first beat, and then strumming the rest of the chord on the other beats. For example, for the C chord, you can playC E


The Guitar Licks

One of the most distinctive features of “My Girl” is the guitar licks that are played throughout the song. These licks are based on the C major pentatonic scale (C D E G A), and they add some flavor and melody to the chord progression. Here are some examples of the guitar licks that are played in the song:

• Intro lick: This lick is played four times in the intro, and it consists of a slide from G to A on the third string, followed by a hammer-on from C to D on the second string, and then a pull-off from E to D on the first string.

  e|—————-|—————-| B|————–1-|—————-| G|———-0h2—|—————-| D|——0h2——-|————0h3-| A|3—————|——–0h3—–| E|—————-|1—–3———|

• Verse lick: This lick is played twice in each verse, and it consists of a slide from C to D on the second string, followed by a pull-off from E to D on the first string, and then a slide from G to A on the third string.

  e|—————-|—————-| B|———-1/3—|—————-| G|————–5-|—————-| D|———-5/7—|————–3-| A|3—–5/7——-|———-3/5—| E|—————-|1—–3/5——-|

• Chorus lick: This lick is played once in each chorus, and it consists of a slide from E to G on the first string, followed by a pull-off from G to E on the second string, and then a slide from C to D on the third string.

  e|———-0/3—|—————-| B|————–6p3—————| G|——————5/7———–| D|———————-7/9——-| A|—————————-10p7-| E|———————————|

You can also improvise your own licks using the C major pentatonic scale, or you can add some notes from the C major scale (C D E F G A B) or the C blues scale (C Eb F F# G Bb) to spice things up.

The Key Change

The song changes from the key of C to the key of D in the final chorus, which means that you will need to transpose all the chords and licks up by a whole step. You can do this by moving everything up two frets on the fretboard, or by using a capo on the second fret and playing the same shapes as before. Here are the chords and licks for the key of D:

• Chords: D, G, Em, A, A7, F#m
• Intro lick:

  e|—————-|—————-| B|————–3-|—————-| G|———-2h4—|—————-| D|——2h4——-|————2h5-| A|5—————|——–2h5—–| E|—————-|3—–5———|

• Verse lick:

  e|—————-|—————-| B|———-3/5—|—————-| G|————–7-|—————-| D|———-7/9—|————–5-| A|5—–7/9——-|———-5/7—| E|—————-|3—–5/7——-|

• Chorus lick:

  e|———-2/5—|—————-| B|————–8p5—————| G|——————7/9———–| D|———————-9/11——| A|—————————-12p9-| E|———————————|

Conclusion

“My Girl” is a classic song that is fun and easy to play on guitar. You only need to know a few basic chords, a simple strumming pattern, and some catchy guitar licks. You can also transpose the song to the key of D for the final chorus, or you can play it in any key that suits your voice and preference. The most important thing is to enjoy playing and singing along to this timeless tune.