A Beginnners Beatles Circle: #2

Here's the final song list with the key of each song (well, actually the first chord of the verse of each song; I'm hopeless at actually figuring out keys.)

Eight Days a Week D - if you ignore the intro, the only thing that might give you trouble is the Bm.

I'm Only Sleeping Em - to be accurate the guitar should be tuned down, but we aren't going to do that. A Bm, B7 and F chords may give some pause.

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away G - there's simpler transcriptions, and more accurate ones. Make sure you have the simpler one.

Norwegian Wood D - the chords are surprisingly simple on this one; it's making it sound right that's the hard part (or making it sound like what you remember from the record).

Eleanor Rigby Em - there's little hope of making this sound like a string quartet without finger picking it, so don't even try. Instead, just play the simple chords in this and make for a more acoustic guitar version.

I Saw Her Standing There E7 - this one's just fun to sing, though there is a B chord in there (or B7 depending upon the transcription)

Day Tripper E7 - the Olga transcription of this one isn't too bad; others can be down right hairy.

I Don't Want To Spoil The Party G - the problem with this one is that the verses have a bunch of difficult chords, and they come at you fast. The chorus has the simple chords; but they come even faster. So play it much slower than the original.

I Feel Fine G7 - except for a Bm chord, this one should give you no trouble

I've Just Seen a Face A - A F#m chord is actually pretty easy. Not up to it? Just play the bottom three strings and fake it.

No Reply C - A nice song; not easy for the beginner though.

Help A - the nice thing about starting on a Bm, is that you have all the time in the world to get your fingers in the right place for that first chord. And the next three chords are so simple!

Girl Em - you'll need a capo to carry this one off, and wow! Bm and B7; but it's so pretty it's worth those wretched chords!

Cry Baby Cry Em - nice little progression in the verse that's fun to do; though watch out for that C7

Some of these songs have a hairy chord or two in them, but they are mostly fun and easy to play.

Here's some practice tips:

1) Play very slow and steady. Don't play at tempo and then have to pause for the more difficult chord changes. It's much better to play at a consistent speed.

2) If a chords new and giving you problems, create an exercise involving cycling between it and the chords you have to go to it from.

3) Don't try and learn too many new things at once.

4) If you're not good at barre chords, consider doing a cheat fingering; i.e. just finger and play the bottom four strings of the chord. When played that way, an F chord is not much harder than a C chord.

5) Bm. Master that chord and you shouldn't have much trouble!