Song chords
Stick Season chords
Noah Kahan
A driving four-chord folk loop played high up the neck with a capo, which is what gives it that bright, banjo-adjacent ring. The shapes are the easiest four on the guitar.
Before you start
The chords you need.
4 shapes covers the whole song, fretted with the capo at fret 4. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Capo 4 with Em–C–G–D shapes, sounding in G# minor. The capo position matters more than usual here — lower down it loses the brightness the record depends on. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 122 bpm.
Verse
4 barsShapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Chorus
4 barsSame loop, fuller strumming.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Need it in a different key, or without the capo? Run it through the transposer — move every chord by the same interval and the song is unchanged.
Playing it
What actually trips people up.
The picking pattern is relentless and the tempo does not let up. Build the right hand first on a single Em before adding the changes.
The chart above is the commonly played arrangement — the version a competent player would hand you, not a bar-for-bar transcription of a specific master. Section labels are there to orient you; live and studio versions repeat, extend and drop sections freely, and none of that changes which chords you need.
About this page
Chord names and song structure are facts; for lyrics and official notation, support the artist. This page carries no lyrics on purpose — Stick Season was written and recorded by Noah Kahan, and the words belong to them. What you get here is the harmony: the key, the capo, the tempo, and which chord goes where.
Next
Songs that sit near this one.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
What key is Stick Season in?
Stick Season sounds in G# Minor. The common arrangement gets there with a capo at fret 4 and E Minor shapes, which is why the chords written here are E Minor chords rather than G# Minor ones.
Do I need a capo for Stick Season?
Yes for the standard arrangement: capo 4. Without it you would be playing G# Minor shapes, which needs barre chords. With the capo on, the shapes are E Minor — much friendlier under the hand.
What chords are in Stick Season?
Em, C, G and D — 4 chords across 2 sections. Capo 4 with Em–C–G–D shapes, sounding in G# minor. The capo position matters more than usual here — lower down it loses the brightness the record depends on.
What is the easiest way to play Stick Season?
Beginner overall. The picking pattern is relentless and the tempo does not let up. Build the right hand first on a single Em before adding the changes.
How fast is Stick Season?
About 122 bpm. Every section on this page plays back at that tempo, so you can hear how long each chord is meant to be held before you try it yourself.
Can I play Stick Season in a different key?
Yes — the progression is the song, not the letters. Move every chord by the same number of semitones and it still works. The transposer will do the arithmetic, or you can move the capo and keep these shapes.