Wagon Wheel is the country singalong classic written by Bob Dylan and performed by Old Crow Medicine Show. In this Wagon Wheel piano tutorial, I teach you how to play the chords, the country accompaniment and more. Perfect for players of different levels!
Sign up for your free Wagon Wheel printable.
Learn the chords, accompaniment and get ready to rock and roll!
Wagon Wheel has become a campfire-singalong song that just won’t go away! The chorus was written by Bob Dylan back in 1973 and was somehow discovered by Ketch Secor of the band Old Crow Medicine Show. Secor added verses to that Dylan chorus and the song became a huge hit 25 years later.
Even though this song is usually played on guitar, today I am going to show you several accompaniment strategies that you can use to replicate it on piano. You will even learn to play fills and an improvised solo!
Wagon Wheel is in the Key of A Major and uses only four chords for the entire song!
Let's go!
Great Balls of Fire Lyrics and Chords
Need to learn chords?
Sign up and get my FREE Ultimate Chord Cheat Sheets! Perfect for mastering your chords on piano.
Wagon Wheel Chords
These are the chord inversions I use in the tutorial. You can use whichever ones you like!
Wagon Wheel Accompaniment Strategy #1: Simple “Oom Pah”
In this “Oom Pah”strategy, we alternate between the Root of the chord in the Left Hand and the Chord in the Right
Wagon Wheel Accompaniment Strategy #2: “Oom Pah” Root-5th
In this “Oom Pah”strategy, we alternate between the Root and the 5th of the chord in the Left Hand and the Chord in the Right.
Wagon Wheel: Accompaniment Strategy #3: Banjo
Since there is banjo in the original recording, we should put a little banjo on the piano! All you have to do is arpeggiate the root position chords in the way I outline below. Your Left Hand will play the Root and 5th of the chord to hold down the harmony. Sounds great!
Wagon Wheel: Accompaniment Strategy #4: Funky
Since there is banjo in the original recording, we should put a little banjo on the piano! All you have to do is arpeggiate the root position chords in the way I outline below. Your Left Hand will play the Root and 5th of the chord to hold down the harmony. Sounds great!
Improvised Solo
To improvise a solo or fills, you are going to play the A pentatonic scale, thinking of it as 5-6-1-2-3. The Left Hand will do its own “Oom Pah”, alternating between the root and the 3/5
Want to level up your musical skills? Strengthen your piano skills, develop your ear training, become a rhythm ninja and learn new skills like jazz and improvisation.
The Versatile Musician is an all-in-one membership that combines video lessons, print material and live support to help you level up your skills and thrive as a musician and music teacher.
To learn more, check out www.theversatilemusician.com and get ready to become the best musician possible!
Singalong Piano Bar 70s Songs