-How The BEATLES Made Basic Chords Sound MASSIVE! Check out all my lesson vids at: www.the-art-of-guitar.com Facebook: / fansoftheartofguitar / theartofguitar Thanks!!!
Another thing is that George and John would play two different voicings of the same chord (maybe one barred and one open), which would also make things sound pretty different
In those score books for them on 7th chords I have seen they often only have one guitar play the actual 7th and the other would just be a straight triad.
Oasis would also often do this. They'd have two rhythm guitars, one playing open chords and the other playing barre chords, which contributed to their famous "wall of noise" sound on their first two albums.
I've been playing 39 years and never really knew this. AND I've always wondered why some Beatles guitar parts sound richer and fuller. Thanks for breaking it down so well. Here's to the next 39 years!
weirdly I learned this (not refered to the beatles, but in metal music) as one of my first lessons fom making metal music. how comes someone can miss this out for 39 years of playing?
In the 90s I broke my hand and had to hire a couple of players to back me up, and they both said they learned things from having to perform my parts. So I may have missed this one, but I do just fine, thank you. I admitted this was in my blind spot, but I guess Jabronis gonna Jabroni.
It’s called the second inversion, if people want to study it more. The song where it’s absolutely necessary for the Lennon sound is Imagine, where you really have to play the C chord as G C E on the piano to get the sound right, and it makes the connecting walk between the two chords (the der der der between the lyric lines) work. Enjoy!
I love the Beatles because they teach me so much daily. The song Get Back is a masterclass in A. Polythene Pam is ACDC before ACDC. Paperback Writer is so amazing from a Chord/picking the chord stand point.
Can't remember the exact quote, but I once read a Lennon interview where he said his guitar playing wasn't perfect in terms of technique, but he knew how to make a band howl
Lennon was a stunning guitarist and not just his awesome rhythm playing. Go listen to Julia, this is a masterclass in advanced chords and Travis finger picking. I remember when I was 16 thinking if I could play julia as well as John I would be contented with my guitar playing. 43 years later I am still not there, and probably never will be. Oh and he also made all this up before he was 30!
I've honestly been fully barring my A-string power chords since I started teaching myself. I thought I was being very original, throwing the thickest string in there to fatten the sound up- then, just the other day, I realized Weezer was doing it, too. Pretty wild coincidence of you to upload this video right after I got done ranting to my friends about the concept!
When The Breeders - Last Splash came out, there was a tab for Cannonball in Guitar Magazine, and they use the same trick when they go Bb to Eb by anchoring the index finger on the 6th fret and only moving the ring and pinky. That's when I picked up on the idea of using the lower 5th. It's a super cool trick.
I used to play chords like that all the time, especially when playing an open C. I didn't realise it was a thing. I feel encouraged to pick it up again after a 20yr hiatus, especially after going down a Beatles rabbit hole over the New Year & finally getting around to watching the film "Get Back". Nice one, great little video. 👍
Haha, I’ve always played in that way (and I bet many have), not because I knew what a 5th was, but because I always thought this is how barre chords are played.
Thanks Mike. I found this naturally for power chords (double 1 and double 5) and always wondered by that way was considered “wrong” and not used more often. I never thought of doing it for full chords though.
Modal chords with the fifth on the bottom. The bass guitar plays the root. It's voicing the chord across three instruments. It comes from folk music and lute music. In particular Baroque music. It reflects the tuning of the violin, viola, and cello. It's an European musical history that often gets overlooked in the history of rock music, as its history is too focused on the American roots of rock music.
Great video! Although I'm not a guitarist, but a keyboardist, I find this presentation of the different chords of the Beatles songs extremely exciting. - Very informative and the difference in sound is so easy to hear. - Keep up the good work! 👍
Paul went the power chord route on bass at least once. When I recorded 'All I Gotta Do', I was surprised by this even after hearing it a million times.
Paul went power chords on bass many times. Keep in mind that he was a guitarist playing bass. Listen to 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and you definitely hear him playing power chords during a later verse and during some of the guitar solos in the outro.
Paul did that many many times... 'All I Gotta Do', 'Don't Bother Me', 'And I Love Her', 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' (the bridge part), a few parts in 'Help', 'I'm Only Sleeping', and a few others I'm sure.
@@billhosono7468 John did the initial track but Paul went back after and redid it. there are places in the song where you definitely hear the bass part John played bleeding through faintly. My guess is that the drum mics picked it up
You should seriously look into avant garde guitarists like Cosey Fanni Tutti (throbbing gristle), or even Syd Barrett ala 1966-67. I think it make for an interesting and fun analysis
From what I've learned, it seems that Django Reinhardt used to play his Gypsy Jazz chords with the 5th on the bottom too - making the most of the bass player in the band to play the root underneath
I used to do this, because i taught myself guitar i thought that most chords required all 6 strings. Especially barre chords. It wasnt until i was older that i learned i wasn't supposed to hit every string every chord.
Great stuff brother. You really hit the nail on the head about playing with a band. At church on Sunday mornings, sometimes the bass player can’t make it. Have to thicken up on them days. This is perfect for that. Thanks!!!
Awesome Video, Mike! thanks for highlighting the boys again. it feels like it’s been a while since you did a Beatles dive & I hope we have more to come.
John Lennon on Guitar: 1st recorded Feedback, first backwards guitar, ICONIC RIFFS (I want you She’s so Heavy, Day Tripper, I feel Fine, Norwegian Wood, Revolution, etc), Magical Finger picking in The White Album, surreal chromatic descending chord progressions… Lennon truly revolutionized the way Guitar is played. His ending riff on I want you She’s so Heavy is basically the blueprint for Sabbath, Zeppelin, Radiohead, doom metal and countless bands
Been playing in a power trio for a while now and started doing this after learning Weezer's Hashpipe. This massively helps to fill up the space of a missing guitarist. Been using this in almost every cover we play now!! Thanks!!
V interesting. I'm only a very basic player, but I've only ever played the full 6 string versions of barre chords and open C chords. I thought that was the proper way to do it! Being old, the Internet wasn't around to confuse me when I was learning!
Another triumph! I always love seeing new material from one of the kindly, loving people on the planet that I know! ;) Keep it up with these wonderful productions. So beautiful.
Holy crappe, Batman. --[1] I've been playing Beatles songs since1965, when I took up cover-band lead/rhythm guitar, because, at age 15 years, I wanted to be the next Beatles. During these 58 years, it just did not dawn on me to add the 6th string on the Beatles rhythm parts. Thanks, for your most astute heads-up. --[2] Also, as a heads up, on Feb 9, 2024, less than three months from today (11/19/23), will be the 60th anniversary of the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on Feb 9, 1964. I watched that appearance, along with 73 million other people. In fact, I remember where I was when I viewed that show. I was at my grandmother's home. I can't believe that it has been nearly 60 years. Time flies if you are having fun & are still alive. Thanks, Richard 👍👍👍
I started doing this years ago in a band I played with for the Bob Seger song "Turn The Page." I never knew if the guitar in that song was a baritone guitar or not, but it had that "sound" you describe. It never sounded right with how I played it until I finally figured out that by starting the chord with that low fifth made a huge difference. I have no idea if this was how it was really played or not, but it worked very nicely in our version of it.
I think a lot of neat stuff people learn about the Beatles style of playing was just how they did it. It wasn't really a 'lets do it like this for a different sound' its just how they played. Or maybe they did do that on purpose to get a more full sound to the chords because the gear back then wasn't as good so anything to fill gaps. Also after all the scales also go down as well as up so the extra note just works well.
Well, I suppose it's because I learnt to play guitar with The Beatles, but I've always thought that's how you play these chords. I'm stunned to learn 20 years later that it's not the official form.😮
the pictograms for the guitar chords in my Beatles Song Books in the late '70s in 4th grade were almost always spot on - some of the chords were not easy to learn or play and transition smoothly ( correctly ) at first but over time it became 2nd nature at that time i was doing the vocals while playing the rhythm and various riffs am lucky my dad didn't catch me sneaking his dreadnought doing this fortunately i got an acoustic of my own in 1980 there were a few songs that had that 'Bm' chord you explained also another chord similar but it was at the 3rd fret instead of G7 it would parentheses the notes where it would leave the A string clear like a whole note ⭕ in the pictogram and the top E string G note circle 🔴 filled in and sometimes just the top two notes in the pictogram other times the 3rd fret bottom E string would be part of the chord along with just the top G note 3rd fret Top E string fortunately i had a very good dual cassette deck and turntable , i would record the Vinyl LPs to cassette to learn from - if i needed to i would record my guitar onto cassette and play it on a separate cassette player simultaneously to compare the riff or passage or vocals to the original material from vinyl or cassette of the artist or band that was about the only way i became proficient and confident about progress was making when i decided to learn all of the rhythm guitar parts for The Cars Debut album considering the time period and VHS 📼 was only okay soundwise .. also before tablature & CDs , before digital audio workstations
It's an "old hat" for a European guitar player who learned barre chords. So you can play 3 typical barre chord shapes very easy in one position. As example fret 5 and 6: A, D and G from top to bottom or B, E and A. You can always leave the barre in one position and play with or without some note if you want.
There was a time when the instrumental playing of each Beatle was usually called into question. I heard that once Pastorius and another prominent bass player by the name of Pedro Aznar were hanging out with some other guy. At one point Aznar left the room and Jaco said to the other guy: 'as sson as he comes back, ill ask him who's you favourite bass player? And he'd better say it's me! When Aznar came back, his reply was 'Paul McCartney' for a second Jaco looked puzzled and went: 'yes, you're right'. John was a genius guitar player
Playing a Bm chord on the 2nd fret with an F# on the low E string was the way I was taught, as was playing an open C chord with a G on the low E string. I've only recently noticed that most people don't do that and it seems strange to me.
They don't know. There's so much emphasis on achievability when teaching a new guitar student...fewer strings is easier. that's my suspicion. Teach 'em fewer strings, probably. Then few people get next level guitar (if there is such a thing in folk and rock instruction) like this lesson from mike. Great content..
@5:57 That C/G on an acoustic guitar is a great sound. Also used by Bowie a lot around the Hunky Dory/Ziggy Stardust era. It's also the first chord of the verse on Wish You Were Here. It's almost a challenge to make yourself strum a "normal" C chord once you learn this one!
Agreed. I can't play a standard C chord or G chord in the context of doing a song unless I consciously anticipate them. I seldom ever do, though. I mean, I seldom did. I don't play anymore.
I have always played C like that, I find it difficult to play it the standard way. The friend who showed it to me when I first started playing called it the "Folk" C and I have used it ever since. Likewise my Barres are all played over the 6 strings. As mentioned, you have to be careful of stepping on other instruments in a band situation too.
All good stuff. Don’t forget the maturity and grace of George playing alternate voicings. Check out “Till There Was You” from Mike Pachelli. Absolute genius at 20 years old.
The Beatles were just musical geniuses. Simple as. Love them 😊🤘🏻🔥 Congrats on 838k Subscribers! 🎉 Love the song recipe videos! 🤘🏻 That Taylor looks and sounds beautiful, do you remember what model it is?
Funny. I do not think, the Beatles were geniusses. But, something between the guys made them work so well and creative together, so that they created massive classics. Fab 4, so 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 is 4, right? Not in this case. It is so much more.
@@astroandyborgloh Your comment is SO insightful! I've thought for years that The Beatles had tremendous SYNERGY!! As great as they all are individually, TOGETHER they brought out something from each other even more. They are definitely a prime example of the whole being greater than the sum of the individual parts! I think Paul was edgier because of John, and Paul helped John to balance his introspection and sometimes darker looks at things with some levity and heartfelt emotion. And they both pushed George to grow, into the great songwriter he was. And Ringo held everything together, a human metronome, and also during their tense later years, he was the one everybody got along with, and seemed to not pick sides and to rise above the fray. He literally helped hold the group together, I think. But again, great comment on your part! ...Peace and love... David : )
Thanks for your enlightenment. I myself always played chords so that the sixth string was part of the chord I was playing. I played so that the sixth string would never be open. So I’ve always covered the sixth string by playing chords fully. But I never realized until you presented your video. Cheers
Hi Mike do you think you could do another Metallica video soon as I’m trying to learn their solos and I was wondering how you can play fast like Kirk (for beginners/intermediate guitarists) :)
The reason it sounds bigger and darker is because a perfect fourth is being created when you use a lowered fifth below the root. the interval from that lowered fifth to the root is a perfect fourth and the perfect fourth interval creates a natural undertone very surprised you didn't cover that in the video
I have always played a minor bar chord covering all six strings, an open C with the G added on the 6th string and an open G with the D note added on the 2nd string. Interesting that John played bar chords using his straight pointer finger, rather than thumbing over like many guitarists did in the 60's.
I didn’t know you could do that with bar chords - add the 5th on the 6th string! I’ve been adding the bottom 5th for power chords for a while to make them sound bigger and nastier but I never extended that idea to all the bar chords. Thanks Mike.
Your a good bloke bro. Awesome teaching and interesting look at things. Ok I mean I'm old and it's good hearing views from a young guy. Way to go m8😊 Sorry I meant to say Mike. Thnks...
Richie Sambora used to do this a lot too!! I remember wondering how It's my life sounded so much bigger and fatter until I saw them play it live and saw him reaching for that lower G note in the C minor of the verses. Pretty neat trick to keep in mind!! 🙌🏻🤘🏻....
This is interesting because it's something I've been doing with certain chords for years. I always play C with the G in the bass and Bm with F# I never realised John was doing this despite the Beatles being my favourite band. Must have subconsciously picked that up.
I can definitely use this. Thanks! I’m the only guitar in an acoustic folk band and we don’t have a bass, so I’ve been wanting to find a way to thicken up the sound in some spots.
The 5th on the bottom works some of the time (on open C it's great, on open A not great). More low end tends to muddy the chord (like you said at 8:31 while I was typing this). But it can work well further up the fretboard on inverted chords. Great video and food for thought, thanks!
What a great video!! Anyway, I'm self taught and I've been playing like rhat forever. I always wondered why people thought i was some great player. Its those chord patterns. Thanks for clearing this up
...that magical moment when you "slid" into a side-door of a Beatles song already in-progress, in a magical mystery tour in a day in the life, on the 8th day of the week, and it's getting better all the time.. ;)
It might've had something to do with the fact that he(Lennon)first learned how to play on a banjo? That maybe had something to attribute to why he did his bar-chords the way he did? Solid playing no doubt indeed. And just like you said in the video, he did have two other great players to add to their sound as well? Of course Ringo laid down that strong beat, to bring it all together? And there it is... ✌
I was thinking this. Paul taught him how to do guitar chords, and I wonder ifJohn when he went from four strings to six overgeneralized and started playing BOTH of the lower strings where most guitarists would only play the A string and leave the E string unstrummed.
One of the first things I recognised when trying to play songs of the Beatles is that in the recordings, strumming is practically inaudible or at least very much reduced in volume. Thus massive sounding chords are a rarety with them!
when I was playing death metal I did techniques like that on power chords (another is to keep the octave too and it sounds massive with distortion--you can even do both octaves)
check out hendrix wind cries mary A shaped chords adding the E string.. same thing ..great video .. its great to watch someone who appreciates the small things about the greats
Wow! I was wondering why sometimes my Taylor sounds massive and others just enough. I blame the room and didn’t think more about it. I was being lazy by not using all the strings and avoiding that that bottom 4th that make the guitar sound deep and percussive. Thanks
