How to play Karma Police by Radiohead
Karma Police by Radiohead is from their influential 1997 album OK Computer. Initially not expected to chart well because of it’s progressive post-modern style, OK Computer became one of the highest selling Pop albums of the 1990s and the band’s most popular album. Following the 1st single, Paranoid Android, Karma Police was the 2nd single from the album and remains one of Radiohead’s most recognisable songs. The acoustic guitar part is an integral element and the intelligent variety of chords makes it a rewarding rhythm guitar chart.
Chords: Am Am/F# Em G G4 F D/F# D D2 C F# Bm E
Do I have to use my thumb for the Am/F# and D/F# ? It is possible to play these chords with a finger on each note but, if you can reach it the F# bass note is best played by the thumb reaching just far enough over the the edge of the fingerboard to hold it. You only need it for a couple beats at a time. If you are playing a nylon-string guitar you can omit the F#.
Acoustic or Electric? This chart is for the acoustic steel-string rhythm accompaniment part but also sounds good on electric guitar.
Pick or fingers? What you hear on the recording is the sound of plectrum strumming on steel acoustic-guitar strings. To recreate it you need to use a pick on steel strings. This song can also be strummed fingerstyle on nylon strings but the tone will not match the recording.
How to interpret the rhythm: The rhythm for Karma Police is a mix of one-beat, half-beat and quarter-beat strums. The rhythm in the 1st/2nd-time bar is counted as “1 2 & a 3 & 4 e & a”. The suggested rhythm in the chorus is counted as “1 2 & a 3 & 4 & a”.
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : To learn more about the chords and rhythms in Karma Police go to pages 5, 8, 10, 12-14, 24-25, 31 and, 34
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 is the perfect companion for our song guides- it is specifically designed to help beginners speed up their chord changes, master their strumming patterns, and many other techniques.