How to play Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival
One of numerous big global hits by CCR in the late ‘60s - early ‘70s, Have You Ever Seen the Rain is a classic rhythm guitar number that is just perfect for acoustic steel-string players. Being in the key of C it does include the F chord, and the strumming pattern requires good left-hand control for the percussive strums, otherwise it is suitable for established hobby guitarists with the basics under control.
Chords: C G F Am
Pick or Fingers? Use a pick to create the very steady brushing back-and-forth strumming you hear on the original.
Acoustic or Electric? Acoustic steel-string is what you hear on the recording but an electric guitar with a clean, rhythm tone will also sound good. Playable on nylon-string acoustic but the sound is less satisfactory; you need the steel-string twang!
How do you play the percussive strum? The rhythm throughout much of Have You Ever Seen the Rain features a light percussive downstrum on the 2nd and 4th beats. To do this, lightly relax your chord fingers on those downstrokes but don’t let them lift from the strings; they need to relax just enough to create a muted strum, then the pressure goes straight back on for the following up-strum. If not already familiar with this technique, try it just on the C chord, slowly until it becomes a reliable action, then gradually work the speed up.
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : To learn more about the chords and rhythms used in Have You Ever Seen the Rain go to pages 8, 10, 12 - 13, 19 - 20 and 34 - 35.
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 is the perfect companion for our song guides. It will teach you how to read the rhythm slash notation used in our charts (as used in professional theatre and studio charts), and is specially designed to help beginners speed up their chord changes, master strumming patterns, and develop guitar confidence.
