Roxanne Chords

Learn how to play Roxanne!

Roxanne’s verse progression descend from VI – V – IV – III – II.

This descending pattern cleverly supporting the lyrical attempt to stop Roxanne from selling her body under the red light.

The bridge/pre-chorus use II – V – VI as a cycle of 4ths to set us up for the more traditional I – IV – V chorus.

To tie it all together, both the verse and the chorus end with a VI7sus4 chord which seamlessly transcend back to its sad VI form.

This switch in color over chord VI prepares Roxanne for her Aeolian adventures of verse 3 and 4.

Playing with a capo

To get the key right, place a capo on fret III.

This means that you will be playing in the key of Gm or Bb, but as a guitar player this is irrelevant.

Instead think in the key of Em or G since this is what the chord shapes are.

Using the DIY TAB you can dive into the depths of Roxanne and find out why it feels so natural, why it’s so memorable.

The secret lies within how the melody connect with the chords, what intervals are used and more importantly, when they are used.

The tools to get you to understand this start with the Conspiracy.