Don’t Look Back In Anger (Oasis) Guitar Lesson with Backing Tracks + TAB

Don’t Look Back In Anger Guitar Lesson + TAB

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play Oasis’ Don’t Look Back in Anger using TABs for each section - Practise with Backing Tracks!

Don’t Look Back In Anger | TAB

Let’s go through some TABs on how to play each section of Don’t Look Back in Anger, starting with the intro.

There’s a clear nod to John Lennon’s Imagine here! I’ve named the third chord Fmaj7sus2 because, if you examine all the intervals, you’ll find no 3rd—only the root, 2nd, 5th, and the major 7th.

Here’s the verse. Notice how the strumming is broken up and doesn’t always play full chord shapes. Using Roman numerals, the movement is I – V – VI – IIIx, then IV – V – I. The final A5 and G5 are VI – V.

Next, let’s look at the chorus. Here, we play the full chords and even follow the melody on the G chord. Technically, you could describe it as G7 – G – G7 – G6, but that’s a lot of names for what’s essentially a melodic movement within the chord.

Most importantly, notice how the strumming changes from the verse. It now uses more strings to create a fuller sound.

We also have a bridge, which actually comes before the chorus—but since they’re so similar, I’ve grouped them together.

The bridge moves from F – Fm – C – Csus2. This is called voice leading, where individual notes move smoothly from one to the next: A – Ab – E – D. Here’s the TAB.

After the repeated part, we go to chord V (a G), followed by a unique chord I can best describe as G6/G#. Check all intervals to understand why it’s named that way.

The F to E change works well when you include the 5th in the F chord. What might seem like the least important part is actually quite significant—the final two bars.

In those final bars, notice how we avoid playing the top string. The open B string becomes the highest note. This sets up a noticeable lift when the chorus returns, as we go from B (open B string) to G (the 5th of the C chord).

This is a classic example of the millennial whoop—a melodic shift from the 5th to the 3rd of a chord. Katy Perry uses this in California Gurls, where the guitar plays an F and the vocal alternates between C and A, creating a full F triad.

We definitely can’t accuse Noel of theft here—he released Don’t Look Back in Anger years before millennial pop stars took over.

Final note: The original recording is slightly sharp. Set your tuner to 450Hz and it’ll feel much better. But fear not, my backing tracks have been tuned!