The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby)
No lyrics here
Copyright rules mean this note has chords and structure only — pull the words up separately (Spotify/lyric site) while you play.
Song Info
- Artist: Bruce Hornsby and the Range (1986)
- Key: G major
- Capo: none
- Difficulty: Beginner
Free Chord Chart
Ultimate Guitar — The Way It Is (Chords) — the most-viewed free chart (~250k views); everything below is taken from it.
Ultimate Guitar — The Way It Is (Intro Tab) — a guitar version of the famous piano riff, for when the chords feel easy. I couldn’t find a free Songsterr version of this one.
Chords Used
Am7, Em7, D, Cadd9, G, Fmaj7, C
Song Structure & Chord Progression
Matches the free chart linked above (verified 2026-10-15). Almost the whole song is one 4-bar loop (the Riff), plus a short chorus loop:
- Riff (4 bars): | Am7 Em7 | D Cadd9 | G D | Cadd9 |
- Intro: Riff ×2, then Cadd9 ×4 bars, then Riff ×2
- Verse (×3): Riff ×2
- Chorus: G – Fmaj7 – C – Cadd9 ×4, then one Riff to get back into the verse
- Solo (after Chorus 2): Riff ×5, then G – Fmaj7 – C – Cadd9 ×2
- Final Solo (after Chorus 3): Riff ×4
- Outro: G – Fmaj7 – C – Cadd9 ×8, fading out
No bridge. The order is Intro → V1 → Chorus → V2 → Chorus → Solo → V3 → Chorus → Solo → Outro.
Strumming Pattern
The chart doesn’t give a strumming pattern. The song is about 110 bpm, played as straight 16ths with a light swing. A muted D-DU-UDU strum with accents on 2 and 4 works well. Am7 → Em7 → D → Cadd9 → G are close together if you keep your 3rd and 4th fingers planted on the B and high-E strings (3rd fret) across Em7, Cadd9 and G.
Practice Notes
- Can play through with this chord sheet
- Riff loop (Am7–Em7–D–Cadd9–G–D–Cadd9) changes cleanly
- Can play the full loop without looking
- Can sing + play together
Practice Log
| Date | Minutes | Notes |
|---|---|---|