Brahms’ Lullaby—originally titled Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4—is one of Johannes Brahms most well-known and recognizable melodies. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play it on guitar with simple chords, easy tabs, and a straightforward arrangement that works well for beginners or anyone looking to add a calm, classic piece to their playing.

Grab your guitar, and let’s get started!

How to read the guitar chord charts

To clarify how to read the chord charts, the top horizontal line represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string. The vertical lines separate each fret. The numbers in the blue dots tell you which fingers to use on the fretting hand. 

For example, on the G Major chord, you use the:

• 2nd finger on the 6th string, 3rd fret
• 1st finger on the 5th string, 2nd fret
• 3rd finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret
• 4th finger on the 1st string, 3rd fret
• Circles represent open strings
• On some other chords, X means to avoid the string

You can check this link for more on how to read guitar notation symbols.

Brahms Lullaby chords

The basic guitar chords for Brahms Lullaby are G Major, G/B, C add 2, A minor 7, D7 and E minor 7. You can click on the chords with links to learn different ways of playing that chord.

Try the following chords one at a time until you feel comfortable switching between them. These chords will be written above the melody in the next section.

By the way, you can get all the PDFs for this lesson below.

Here are some other resources on chords:

• Master the basic chords on guitar
• Essential 7th chords on guitar
• How to play chord inversions on guitar
• Add 2 chords vs Sus 2 chords: What’s the difference?
  

Brahms Lullaby – melody with tabs and chords

For the sheet music below, keep in mind that the chords and melody are meant to be played as separate parts. We’ll look at how to connect these parts later in the arrangement section of this lesson.

When playing the chords part, continue playing the same chord when switching to a measure that doesn’t show one. For example, you would play D 7 for measures 7 and 8.

You can refer to this simple guide to understanding music symbols if needed.

Guitar Essentials is a step-by-step approach to learning to play the guitar. This ebook will guide you from the fundamental beginner skills to being able to play songs on your own.

Whether you have little to no experience playing guitar, this will help you take your skills to the next level!

👉 Get it here!

Brahms Lullaby – fingerstyle arrangement

In this section, we are essentially connecting the melody and chords together using a finger picking method of playing. If needed, check out this lesson to learn how to finger pick on guitar.

The third to last measure uses a G chord in 2nd inversion, meaning that the 3rd of the chord is in the bass.

If you like this style of playing, you can check out this lesson to learn how to connect a melody and chords on guitar.

📘 Get the free Practice Blueprint: Build better habits and make your progress more consistent. Download the free guide →

Want to learn more songs? Check out the sheet music with guitar tabs resource on this site.

Explore Songs with Guitar Tabs