You Want to Play This Powerful Worship Song
You’ve heard it in church, maybe on a Hillsong Worship album, and the melody is stuck in your head. The song “Who You Say I Am” carries a simple yet profound message of identity, and you want to bring that from your speakers into your own hands on the guitar. It’s a beautiful goal.
Maybe you’re preparing to lead worship, learning for personal devotion, or just love the way the chords flow. The good news is, this song is very accessible for guitarists. It uses common open chords and a repeating pattern that’s easy to pick up, even if you’re relatively new to playing.
This guide will walk you through everything: the chords you need, the strumming pattern that gives it the right feel, how to play the signature intro riff, and tips to make it sound full whether you’re playing alone or with a team. Let’s get your guitar in tune and start playing.
The Heart of the Song: Understanding the Chord Progression
At its core, “Who You Say I Am” is built on a four-chord loop in the key of G major. This progression forms the entire verse and chorus, creating a meditative, uplifting foundation. The chords are G, C, Em, and D.
If you’re familiar with common worship music, you’ll recognize this as a I-V-vi-IV progression in the key of G. That’s G (I), C (V), Em (vi), and D (IV). This progression is incredibly popular because it’s emotionally resonant and easy to sing over.
Here are the standard open chord shapes you’ll use. Make sure each note rings out clearly.
– G Major (G): 3rd fret on the low E string, 2nd fret on the A string, open D string, open G string, open B string, 3rd fret on the high E string.
– C Major (C): 3rd fret on the A string, 2nd fret on the D string, open G string, 1st fret on the B string, open high E string.
– E Minor (Em): Open low E, 2nd fret on the A string, 2nd fret on the D string, open G, open B, open high E.
– D Major (D): 2nd fret on the G string, 3rd fret on the B string, 2nd fret on the high E string. Mute or avoid playing the low E and A strings.
The Essential Strumming Pattern
The strumming pattern is what gives the song its driving, worshipful pulse. It’s not a complex fingerstyle pattern, but a steady, rhythmic down-up strum. A great basic pattern to start with is: Down, Down-Up, Up-Down-Up.
Try this pattern slowly, one strum per beat. Count it out: “1 (down), 2 (down-up), and (up), 3 (down-up)”. Practice this pattern on a single chord until it feels natural. The accent should be on the downbeats (1, 2, and 3).
As you get comfortable, you can add slight dynamics by strumming softer on the “up” strums and louder on the “down” strums. This creates a textured, professional sound without needing to overcomplicate it.
Playing the Song Section by Section
Now, let’s apply the chords and strumming to the actual structure of the song. The order is straightforward and repetitive, which is perfect for memorization.
The Intro and Verse
The song typically begins with the intro riff (which we’ll cover next) or simply with the chord progression. The verse uses the four-chord loop twice. The chord change timing is even: four beats (or four strums of your pattern) per chord.
Play: G (4 beats), C (4 beats), Em (4 beats), D (4 beats). Then repeat: G, C, Em, D.
That’s the entire verse. The lyrics “Who am I that the highest King would welcome me…” start over the G chord. Sing along as you play to lock in the timing.
The Chorus and Bridge
The chorus uses the exact same chord progression and timing. The emotional intensity often builds here, so you might strum a bit more forcefully or add a capo for a brighter tone, but the chords remain G, C, Em, D.
The bridge section (“I am chosen, not forsaken…”) introduces a slight variation. It often starts on the C chord instead of G, but still cycles through the same four chords. It might be played with a more urgent, building strumming pattern before resolving back to the final choruses.
Learning the Signature Intro Riff
What makes the studio version recognizable is the clean, picked intro riff. This is played on the higher strings and outlines the chord progression melodically. It’s easier than it sounds.
The riff is based around the notes of the G major scale. You’ll be picking individual strings rather than strumming. Here is a simple tablature for the main phrase.
e|—————–3—0———————————|
B|———–0—3——-1—0————————-|
G|—–0—2——————-2—0——————-|
D|—2—————————————————|
A|——————————————————-|
E|——————————————————-|
Start slowly. The numbers indicate which fret to press on that string. An “0” means play the open string. Practice this phrase until you can play it smoothly. This riff repeats and slightly varies over the G, C, Em, and D chords. Listen closely to the recording to match the timing and feel.
Using a Capo for the Original Key
Hillsong Worship often plays this song in the key of A major, not G. To play along with the original recording without learning new chord shapes, you can use a capo.
Place a capo on the 2nd fret of your guitar. Now, when you play the G, C, Em, and D shapes, the actual sounding chords will be A, D, F#m, and E. This matches the album version perfectly.
This is a common worship band technique. It allows you to use comfortable open chord shapes while singing in a key that better suits a full band or a vocalist’s range.
Troubleshooting Common Challenges
Every guitarist hits snags when learning a new song. Here are solutions to frequent issues with this one.
My chord changes are slow and choppy. This is normal. Isolate the difficult transition. Practice switching between just G and C for a minute, then C and Em, then Em and D. Use a metronome set to a very slow speed and gradually increase it as you become accurate.
The strumming pattern feels awkward. Simplify it. Start with just downstrokes on each beat. Once that’s solid, add a single upstroke on the “and” of beat two. Build the pattern piece by piece instead of tackling the whole thing at once.
It doesn’t sound full enough when I play alone. Try these tricks. First, ensure you’re hitting all the strings of each chord cleanly. Second, try a “boom-chick” pattern: play a low note (the root) on the downbeat, then strum the higher strings on the upbeats. Third, consider using a subtle delay or reverb pedal if you have one.
How do I sing and play at the same time? Master the guitar part until you don’t have to think about it. Then, hum the melody while playing. Finally, speak the lyrics in rhythm over your playing before attempting to sing them with pitch. Go painfully slow at first.
Alternative Ways to Play It
If you want to expand beyond the basic open chords, here are some variations.
Using a Piano-Driven Feel: Try arpeggiating the chords. Instead of strumming, pick through the notes of each chord from low to high. This mimics a piano style and works beautifully for quiet moments.
Power Chords for a Rock Edge: While not traditional for this song, you can play power chords on the lower strings. For a G5, play the 3rd fret on the low E and the 5th fret on the A string. Move this shape to the 8th fret for C5, to the 7th fret for Em5, and to the 5th fret for D5.
Exploring the Neck with Barre Chords: For a richer, more mature sound, play the progression using barre chords. In the key of G (without a capo), that would be G major (3rd fret E-shape barre), C major (8th fret C-shape or 3rd fret A-shape), Em (7th fret E-shape barre), and D major (5th fret A-shape barre).
Your Next Steps to Mastery
You now have the blueprint. The fastest path to owning this song is consistent, focused practice. Don’t try to perfect everything in one session.
Spend your first practice learning the four chords and getting clean transitions. Your next session, work on the strumming pattern with a metronome. In a third session, tackle the intro riff. Finally, put it all together with the song structure.
Record yourself playing. Listen back to identify what sounds good and what needs work. Play along with the original track using your capo on the 2nd fret. Most importantly, play it with heart. This song is about declaration, not just technique. Let that intention guide your practice, and soon you’ll be playing “Who You Say I Am” with confidence, adding your own voice to its message of identity and grace.
