What’s that Strange Chord at the start of Bowie’s ‘Starman’?
- jeremy james
- Aug 5, 2021
- 1 min read
‘Starman’ is a Bowie classic that we’ve all heard countless times, but what’s that chord he plays at the start?
We know the sound of it but without a cheat sheet, it’s one of those partially open chords that can take ages to find. I’ve never actually tried to figure it out but when ‘Total Guitar’ featured the song recently I couldn’t resist giving it a go:
The opening chord is a B♭but by removing the 1st finger barre you’d normally play it with, you get the two open E strings adding that recognisable dissonance:
To really nail it, you’ll need a 12-string but at the very least playing this on an acoustic with the next chord of the intro (Fmaj7) will bring a smile to any Bowie fan.
So tune up and get ready to join the band:
Ready to start strumming now without any prior experience or a physical instrument? Online virtual guitars make it possible! These tools often provide a user-friendly interface where you can select chords and "strum" them with your mouse or keyboard, or play individual notes. It's a fun and interactive way to get a feel for how guitar music is made, learn basic chord shapes, and even try playing along to simple tunes. For anyone curious about learning guitar, it’s a fantastic, zero-cost way to begin exploring.