The ULTIMATE American Girl Guitar Lesson (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)

Behold a song brimming with American spirit and blistering rock guitar parts. 

It’s been played in countless party bands and kept audiences on the dance floor rocking all night long.

You only need to know 6 chords and a few simple riffs to get playing it like the record today.

So grab your guitar and let’s dive into this “American Girl” guitar lesson. 

Who wrote American Girl?

The song "American Girl" is a classic rock song written by Tom Petty and recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was released in 1977 as the second single from their debut album, also titled Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. 

The song captures a sense of restlessness and longing for freedom, typical of many young Americans. The song was even recorded on the Fourth of July, 1976, adding a layer of American spirit to the theme.

The album Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which includes "American Girl," was made at the Shelter Studio in Hollywood, California. "American Girl" has gone on to become one of Tom Petty's most iconic songs and has received widespread acclaim over the years. It has been featured on numerous "best of" lists, including Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, where it ranked #76.

Is American Girl easy to play on guitar?

Playing the basic 6 chords and a simple strumming patter to the song won’t require more than an intermediate-level guitar skill. But to play the lead lines and blistering riffs double-tracked by Mike Campbell at the end of the song is going to require an advanced level of guitar chops.

American Girl Guitar Chords

To play “American Girl” you’ll only need to know 6 chords D, E, G, A, Em, and Bm. All of these chords can be played as open chords except for Bm, that’s going to be our one bar chord. Let’s take a look at some common ways these chords can be played on guitar. 

D is the first chord in the song and is played from the 4th string down like this:

E moves to using all 6 strings like this:

G also uses all 6 strings like this:

A is played from the 5th string down, and for this one, I often only use my index finger like this:

Em looks just like the E major chord except here we’ll remove the index finger to make it a minor:

Finally, we have our one bar chord Bm. This is played in 2nd position from the 5th string down like this:

If you want to learn chords and the fretboard faster grab my FREE fretboard guide right here:

American Girl Strumming Pattern

The groove and feel for “American Girl” by Tom Petty is an uptempo double-time rock feel. This means we have a very bright quarter-note pulse. There are two primarily strumming patterns I would use throughout the song. The first rhythm is the easiest and you can hear it played in the verse. My guess is this was probably played by Tom Petty, while Mike Campbell accented with the more arpeggiated parts on top. But the basic idea is to play a whole note tied to a whole note. So strum every 8 beats. But keep in mind that because of the bright tempo, these 8 beats fly by pretty quick.

The D below represents a “downstrum”:

“American Girl” strumming pattern 1: 

| 1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4 |
  D

Here’s another way of seeing this:

The second rhythm I would mix in would be based on the opening figure. This uses two dotted quarter notes followed by a quarter note.

“American Girl” strumming pattern 2: 

| 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |

  D      D       D      D      D       D     Etc…

Note the use of all down strums. This gives your rhythm a driving rock sound. 

What key is American Girl in?

“American Girl” by Tom Petty is in the key of D major. All of the chords fit the diatonic scale of D major except for the E chord that appears in the verse. This E chord functions as a major II chord or could be thought of as a secondary dominant. Going from the I chord to the major II chord is a very common progression used in millions of songs. This technique is used to add harmonic interest and complexity to a progression.

But note in the song, Petty uses an E major, and a diatonic minor ii chord (Em) as well. It just depends on where you are in the song. 

Here’s a breakdown:

D major (I chord):

Notes: D, F#, A

Function: Tonic chord, the home chord of the key.

E major (V/V or secondary dominant):

Notes: E, G#, B

Function: Secondary dominant chord (dominant of the A major chord, which is the V chord in D major). It creates a stronger pull towards the A major chord by temporarily tonicizing it.

Em (ii chord):

Notes: E, G, B

Function: Supertonic chord, a minor chord that provides a step away from the tonic.

G major (IV chord):

Notes: G, B, D

Function: Subdominant chord, leading away from the tonic, often used to transition to the dominant.

A major (V chord):

Notes: A, C#, E

Function: Dominant chord, creating tension that typically resolves back to the tonic (D major).

B minor (vi chord):

Notes: B, D, F#

Function: Submediant chord, another minor chord that adds emotional depth, often used in a descending progression.

American Girl Guitar Solo Lesson

As mentioned above to play the chords and strumming patterns used in “American Girl” requires an intermediate level of playing skill. But to play the leads and solos, that is going to require more chops, including the ability to hybrid pick as explains in the soloing lesson below.

The primary scale that Mike Campbell uses throughout the solo is the D major scale.

The D major scale uses the following notes:

1. D
2. E
3. F#
4. G
5. A
6. B
7. C#

There are many patterns of the major scale on guitar. To make sure you are playing the correct patterns used by the old-school masters, like Tom Petty, get your hands on my free fretboard guide right here: 

These notes are arranged in a specific pattern of whole and half steps (tones and semitones) that characterize the major scale. The pattern for a major scale is: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half.

Step-by-Step Breakdown:

• D to E: Whole step (W)
• E to F#: Whole step (W)
• F# to G: Half step (H)
• G to A: Whole step (W)
• A to B: Whole step (W)
• B to C#: Whole step (W)
• C# to D: Half step (H)

You could also think of these notes as Intervals built from the root note of a D Major scale:

• D (Root)
• E (Major second)
• F# (Major third)
• G (Perfect fourth)
• A (Perfect fifth)
• B (Major sixth)
• C# (Major seventh)
• D (Octave)

Conclusion:

To wrap it up, “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is a timeless classic that captures the essence of rock and the spirit of American youth. Whether you're a beginner or an intermediate guitarist, this song provides a great opportunity to improve your playing skills, from mastering basic chords and strumming patterns to tackling more advanced riffs and solos.

Keep practicing, and if you want to learn songs way faster, better understand the fretboard, and not waste years spinning your wheels with guitar, grab my free fretboard guide here right now:

Jon MacLennan