L2 - BLACK MAGIC WOMAN
You might think of Black Magic Woman as a Santana classic, but the song actually began life with Fleetwood Mac. It was written by guitarist Peter Green and first released in 1968, before Santana gave it a completely new flavour two years later.
blends the song’s blues roots with flowing Latin rhythms and percussion, creating the hypnotic groove that most of us recognise today. For ukulele players, it’s a great song for working on minor-key chord changes, controlled rhythm and creating a relaxed groove. The trick isn’t to rush it — let the rhythm settle in and concentrate on keeping everything smooth and steady.
Here's the Fleetwood Mac version as performed live in 1970.
blends the song’s blues roots with flowing Latin rhythms and percussion, creating the hypnotic groove that most of us recognise today. For ukulele players, it’s a great song for working on minor-key chord changes, controlled rhythm and creating a relaxed groove. The trick isn’t to rush it — let the rhythm settle in and concentrate on keeping everything smooth and steady.
Here's the Fleetwood Mac version as performed live in 1970.
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AUDIO
Have a listen to the level 2 audio & vocals then Watch the videos below for strumming instructions:
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STRUMMING
To give Black Magic Woman its distinctive Latin feel, we’re going to attempt two new different strumming techniques - give them a go but remember they are just introductions and will take some practice.
For the intro, solo and outro, we’ll explore the Flamenco strum. This creates a more dramatic, flowing sound and works particularly well over the repeated Dm chords at the beginning of the song.
For the verses, switch to the chuck strum. The muted “chuck” helps create a tighter, more rhythmic groove and gives the main body of the song a strong pulse. Keep the strumming relaxed and aim for an even rhythm before worrying about speed.
The song uses just Dm, A7 and Gm, so once the chord changes feel comfortable, you can concentrate on making the two strumming styles sound clearly different.
For the intro, solo and outro, we’ll explore the Flamenco strum. This creates a more dramatic, flowing sound and works particularly well over the repeated Dm chords at the beginning of the song.
For the verses, switch to the chuck strum. The muted “chuck” helps create a tighter, more rhythmic groove and gives the main body of the song a strong pulse. Keep the strumming relaxed and aim for an even rhythm before worrying about speed.
The song uses just Dm, A7 and Gm, so once the chord changes feel comfortable, you can concentrate on making the two strumming styles sound clearly different.
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VIDEO TUTORIALS
BLACK MAGIC WOMAN - PLAY ALONG