I Feel Fine Riff Guitar Lesson | The Beatles 

A lifelong Beatles fan, and over 50 years after the fact, I realize that John Lennon was an underappreciated and very fine guitarist

Awesome! A teacher who doesn't waste a second of his audience's time. Thanks so much!

That tone is so vintage,Sounds beautiful.

I don't play guitar but its so very interesting to watch people play the riffs. Thanks for showing this one. This is my favorite song of all time!

This guy is a rock star himself. Great playing and Teaching. MAGGOON!!!!!!!!

This is the only video that gets it right. All the other lessons on youtube have you playing the notes on there own, but in order to get the right sound, you have to hold the bar chord. Thanks for the upload!

Simple, yet astounding! Thanks for the lesson!

I too have short fingers but thanks! I've been playing that wrong for 30 years. Nice to hear it the right way.

One reason Lennon had an easier time at the G position is that his Rickenbacker had a shorter (compressed) neck so the frets were closer together at the lower end

Love The Beatles, and love this riff. Easy to understand and well played too,keep up the good work Justin. For those with little fingers (pinky) , there may be 2 ways around this problem. 1 I'm sure i read awhile back that John/George didnt use the 4/4 size guitar but the next size down, ie 3/4 2 If you cant manage to play the 7th fret 4th string ( A note ) use the 2nd fret on the G string. Hope this helps

"Not really built to be a guitar player" but you're doing fine with your "stump". I Feel Fine with your lessons. Keep them coming.

Your great!! i study guitar and english with your wonderful videos, thank you so much!!

Fair play, for someone who "wasn't built to be a guitar player" you're not doing too bad! Great lesson mate :-)

You are just a remarkable teacher, Justin, thanks for sharing this!

I hear you man. I've got it down real nice except for those pinkie stretches. It's easier in the first bit of the riff, but when you get down to the 3rd fret and the frets are spaced out more, man it's killer. Guess I just gotta keep trying.

Dude thanx, u don't know how long i've been trying to learn this, and with ur video i learned it in 5 minutes.

I'm with ya , Justin. Little pinky be damned! I just play the C,B,A on the G string once the riff moves up to the G Barre position.

Very good detailed teaching very much appreciated when you wanna learn every note great job

Malcolm Young! Fantastic!

NICE Gretsch Justin !! Awesome lesson! thanks as always

Thanks Justin, your videos help me a lot.

Thank you! =) I'll go ahead and try this out later, I just totally stopped trying to learn the song because it didn't learn right without the flick. Thanks, have a nice day.

Awesome as always, thanks J

Thank you for this !

John lennon came up with this riff. Perhaps my favorite Beatles lick

thanks a lot man. this was a lot of help.

Thanks for the great lessons justin! Much appreciated

Thanks Man. Awesome tutorial! Good luck to you.

Great teacher

you are fun to watch and a great teacher, wish i had you in my band thanks

Wow, very good tutorial. Ur very accurate!!!

Thank You your cover helps loads! :)

Thanke Dude I Feel Fine now

beautiful guitar dude!

Thank you very much for the great tuto, especially the up and down strokes , very accurate

i just started 3 months ago and if i ever get as good as u i would never put that guitar down!!!! Thanks man

Nicely put together m8. Cheers Mick 😊

GREAT tutorial, you are really good at breaking it down, cheers mate

You could also get a fender squire mini strat for about 150 bucks too! A friend of jon05291 has one works great for stubby fingers.

Good show ole chap !!

LOVE that riff! Thanks!

Great lesson! Always loved this riff. Thanks :)

Really good!

I might have to buy a short-scale Rickenbacker just to stretch my fingers far enough

You can also try playing a regular G and using the 1st and open b string, then 2nd fret and open G string. Try the G with your pinky, middle, and ring finger which leaves your index open to play the riff. Sounds just about the same (because the notes are correct)!

another variation is instead of open D in first bit play 5th fret of 5th string. You can actually use this shape to play whole riff in D, C G. . Not as good but easier I think

Nice and tastey....... i like to just ever so gently touch the top of the string for the feedback at the beginning

Just bought your book bud superb

On Acustic guitar you can actually play this using D C and G chords in first position. (Spanish chords) It sounds good and its easier. D is xx0232 . The chords used in riff are D D7 Dsus7 D D9 D etc.

Solution to small hands on the G section is to play it on a shorter scale guitar like a Jag, Mustang, Duo Sonic, Byrdland, etc. On the record it's actually two guitars double tracking it, George on a Gretsch Tennessean - a 24.5" scale guitar, and Lennon on a Gibson acoustic with a pickup - almost certainly a 24.75" scale. That's why it sounds like that note is made sometimes and sometimes not - the double tracking.

@1000buffalos - totally agree with you on the difficult chord formation. I have long enough fingers and I can stretch to the 7th fret with my pinkie. My problem is the barred note on the 4th string after lifting the pinkie. It sounds as dead as a doornail no thanks to the muting from my 3rd finger - no matter how hard I try. So I let my 3rd finger do the work of the pinkie for the 1st half of the riff.

Now I know it , ur d great guy ..Cebu City Philippines

Thank you friend.

Hello! I really like your lessons, as they are so easy to follow and fun! And of course, this is one of my favourite songs by my heroes! I am having a little problem with the fretting. The fourth note of this barred riff, when the pinky is supposed to be pulled off, comes out muted. Could you please suggest a way to fix this? By the way, I am 13yrs old, and have been playing for around 2-3 years, now. Thanks in advance! Taara...

Thank you for the tutorial :)

Finally found the real deal!! Not just some poser who cranks the Beatles to drown out their limitations while they live out the fantasy of being the 5th Fab!!!

Nice lesson! The riff is easy enough to understand, but man it's a hard one to play.

The third note, (10th fret D string). is always muted. I can't get it to ring when held down with the barre chord. It is almost easier for me to just finger the notes without holding down the barre chord.

Justin---nice video, man. I've been playing since '77 and I STILL have the problem with that stretch at the 3rd fret!!! Granted, it's a classical guitar with the wide frets that one is thankful for when playing those great Jazz chords of old standards...I used to think, "Hold on, if I can manage these monster chord configurations, and, mind you, in a lively movement, then why do I have so much trouble with executing this embellishment on the G barre chord? The plain truth is this; It's just one of those things! Like, I knew this one guy had a group and he played ONLY BARRE CHORDS!! I mean not even an open C chord! I once suggested why not try some not only standard open shapes like A min...but try A min open in the 5th fret...his eyes narrowed to mere slits and as far as I know they remain stuck in that position. Good Lord...I seem to have forgotten what my point was---WAIT, got it; I have resolved to CHEAT when it comes to the 3rd fret stretch on I FEEL FINE. I either a) play the 3rd fret figure until I come to the TROUBLE SPOT, at which point I finger the suspended part as normally played (the C, B) then, instead of that, for me, nearly tendon wrenching reach on the 7th fret, I drop down to the 4th and 2nd fret position, 3rd string, to play that quick little A,B,A,B bit. You'll find that nothing is lost as regards fidelity to the original fingering (or precious little) and problem soled, right? Or b) play the whole figure in an open G chord...easy and lovely, especially on a nylon string. I typically only use this option when playing an instrumental arrangement of I FEEL FINE---(it's a great song for finger style!). Anyway, so sorry I blathered on...but I liked your video and related to that "3rd fret dilemma" that many even experienced players have difficulty with. I played a 1964 Rickenbacker and while the SOUND is magical for the jangly chord sounds I love...I found my fingers need ROOM for chord work, and it did not suit me . Again, sorry for the novel...keep up your great vids!!

Thx Dear.. More !!!

I think the problem with the stretch on your pinky may by that John Lennon was playing a Richenbacher with a short neck.

Thank you!

Theres two places in the song where the picking changes for one bar...One is at the beginning of verse one. The word Baby kind of covers it up a little. And after the solo, same deal, but just for one bar.

thanks!

Sweet Gretsch Malcom Young model too..!

solution to the G chord riff for people with small finger like me! = G ( 3rd fret 6th string using ring finger ) - open g string twice twice - F (3rd fret 4th string using pinky **hammer off to an open D) - C ( 1st fret 2nd string using first finger **hammer off to an open B) - A (2nd fret 3rd string using middle finger) - open B (2nd string) - A (2nd fret 3rd using middle finger) :|| = repeat. *Hope this makes sense/ helps other people

Hey that was brill as always, can we have the rest of the song as a lesson :)) pritty plesae

Most of the difficulties with playing this seem to arise from trying to hold down a barre chord whilst playing the notes as embellishments. It is actually quite simple to play it as a major scale riff. I can see the logic in demonstrating how the riff relates to the underlying chords, and possibly in trying to play it the "original" way, but it is not the only way.

Having trouble with the pinky flick as well. It seems like I'm always muting with my ring finger when i try to pull back (cause those two fingers aren't completely independent).

thanks, the G chord I think is easier with a smaller guitar.. like the one Lennon used .. i think

Lennon plays the riff on a Rick 320 with a 3/4 neck. So, the frets are much closer than your guitar. Easier to extend that pinky.

on the g you can play the end part of the g string.

How about putting a capo on the 3rd fret and playing that difficult G chord as an E major shape ?

Justin, pardon me for dropping this unsolicited comment, but for all the short fingered folks, this lick can easily played by NOT staying in chord formation. Stretch out like you are doing a scale exercise. You lose a bit of the nice sustain, but with practice it can get really close. Its the only way I was ever able to get through some Bach passages.

As a lifelong guitarist (47 years playing) and Beatles fan, I would add two comments to BluesRenegade's two points: #1 Correct #2 ABSOLUTELY correct. Melos

down, downm downflick down, up up up!! xD

You make it look so easy, I find this near impossible to play! My fingers are too short and it hurts my wrist. :(

Nice guitar

I too have the same problem with my pinky finger making the stretch now that I'm 57...In my younger years it wasn't a problem...I have yet to find stretching exercises to help.

Thanks Justin. Great lesson but there's no way on God's green earth that I can maintain the barre chord at the 3rd fret and make that stretch. At least with this thread I know I'm not alone. To keep the sound quality I play the first 2 chords as shown but on the G I abandon the barre and just play the last 2 notes with index and little finger. I know it's not perfect but it's close and in a group setting hopefully there will be a second guitar to fill in!

Love the Gretsch! what model is it?

What a nice guitar! Is it Malcolm Young's one or something like that?

Great lesson all these years later. I still have an issue getting that not to ring out when you pull off. Does anyone else have this issue?

Great stuff played on johns gibson 1600-e

Excellent, full marks friend, Now I can play this lick with my teeth, and it smokes.

I've never seen a Gretsch like that one..What model is it mate ? btw.. I do this acoustically.. when you play the riff down lower.. you don't have to stretch so much but it's not authentic to the recording naturally.

I have problems with the high part cause my hands are too big so things kind of even out. so I start on the 5th fret

Good show Justin, For your "stumpy" 4th finger, might I suggest obtaining a Guitar with a 3/4 scale length? A Ric 325 (Miami) has the original 21" scale lgth. however Lennon played this song on his Gibson J-160E full length scale (3rd fret "G" a real "OUCHER"). Of course, when you "CALL FOR PRICE", the ensuing scream of terror and disbelief, could possibly get you "commited", LOL! I'm a Luthier, and have built a 325 "clone", (along with some 330 12ver's) but my 325 has the "PLAYABLE" scale lgth. of 23". Used to wonder why it was that at the heigth of the BeaTle era, (I'm 68 yrs young), we'd never see anyone playin' this thing, (325), that is, until I finally, (many years later) got up the nerve to ask the sales clark, "Hey mate, lemme give that black'un a "go"? Mystery solved!! Was like tryin' ta play a 'UKE'! The 23" scale lgth. worked out fine 4 me, but I had to build my own, to enjoy it! I don't believe RIC finally got the "message" till the Suzanna Hoffs period, NOW they come in different scale lgths, but with the same accompanying SCREAM!!!!!! Also, Mate, after picking the 6th string, try incorporating a back-picking thingy, whereby you'll be picking your 4th and 5th strings together. You can hear this on the record as more of a "Chord-Riff", than a single string pattern. God bless, and if ya want, reach "John Winston" on facebooker.

JUSTIN WHAT GUITAR ARE U USWING

What extra note are u talking about towards the end of the riff?

That's why I like short scale guitars.

I tried this without seeing the video. My finger hurt so watched this for the justinguitar magic solution. There isn’t one. Just have to streeeetch and practise more LOL ok great help

What guitar is this?!

obviously easier for Lennon to do that pinky stretch off the G chord on his Rickenbacker. I find it very hard on acoustic guitar

hey justin nice jam can you put some tabs on it?

do you know the opening riff to the yardbird's 'like putty in your hands'

After trying it on the 3rd fret the higher ups seem a lot easier.😆

I can't make my little finger flick off the 4th string. Any advice?

Don't know if it's my posture or what but I find it much easier to play the G position than the D position.

nice