I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) Guitar Lesson with Backing Tracks + TAB

In this guitar lesson, you’ll find an analysis and TAB showing how you can turn this into a live performance exercise - prepare by playing with Backing Tracks!

I Will Survive | TAB

Did somebody say epic? Gloria Gaynor’s worldwide smash hit I Will Survive really does feel like it goes on forever—especially if you’re the one playing it!

Centred around this cycle of 4th chord progression:

||: Am | Dm7 | G7 | Cmaj7 |
| Fmaj7 | Bm7b5 | Esus4 | E :||

This is a fantastic opportunity to practise your rhythm playing and your ability to find all the chords in every area of the neck.

Try this approach:

Choose a rhythm and stick with it all the way through the tune
Start in the lowest area of the neck and play all chord shapes here
When a new verse starts, move up to the next position
When you run out of neck, descend one verse at a time

This is something I often do myself at gigs when playing I Will Survive’s chords.

Here’s a rhythm you could consider—your job is to apply this idea across the fretboard!

As you’ll see in the example, I occasionally borrow from neighbouring positions. It doesn’t have to be as strict as a chord exercise—you just need to stay in the general area.

Try playing what you’ve seen here along with the backing tracks above, move around or stay in the same area, the more you explore, the more you’ll learn.