Because - The Beatles | Guitar Lesson

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Learn how to play Because, as performed by The Beatles released on their 1969 Abbey Road album. A beautiful and haunting chord progression and vocal performance for sure, and I always thought the guitar matched the harpsichord all the way through but I recently found that was not the case, and is in fact much easier to play than I had thought. No capo's needed, no adjusted tuning needed, all the chord shapes he played were very simple. Apparently John listened to Yoko Ono playing Moonlight Sonata on piano and asked her to try playing the chord progression backwards to see what that sounded like and he took that as inspiration to compose this song.

The lesson covers John Lennon's arpeggio guitar that was on the record.

00:00 Introduction / What to Expect
02:09 Getting your tone
03:00 Lesson - Intro / verse section
09:47 Demo - Intro / verse section
10:32 Lesson - bridge section
12:35 Demo - Verse to bridge sections
13:18 Final thoughts

Gear used in this video (if you purchase via these links I will earn a small commission):

Epiphone Casino

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[markybgoode]

Had no idea there were so many non-conventional chord shapes in this beautiful song. The backup vocals are heavenly. Thanks

[mvp]

I was waiting for you to sing all the harmonies at once! ;-)

[rjmprod]

Brilliant deciphering of them chords, massive respect……!

[ArchStanton]

Yes! Love it! Thanks Doug. One of the greatest Beatles songs. John seems to have been fond of the arpegio style of playing on Abbey Road. Because, Sun King and possibly the next song you'll be tackling (hopefully) I Want You (She's So Heavy) all incorporate arpeggios.

[bj]

Always fun to see an enthusiast helping others. Well done.

[roughcutguitars]

Holy CATS! What an undertaking - and what kind of mad genius writes a guitar arrangement like that??? Oh, right, John did 😀
The kind of thing where even with the heavy lifting all done and laid out for you, you know it's still gonna take you a solid couple months to get close. Thanks!

[batesmotel]

Well done sir. BTW love the Thunder Road Guitars T-Shirt. Shout out to West Seattle. Frank, Chad and the guys are the best

[westfield]

Yes been wanting to learn this one. Thank you so much. Such a gorgeous piece.

[jakeredshade]

Nice work on this - i had it wrong in the same 3 spots you orginally did! Very cool - Thank you!

[HereToday]

A sample of The immense talent of Lennon

[davidlind]

Thanks! I always look forward towards your videos. The green LED lights are wonderful.

[jricoc]

I always learn so much from these videos. The first thing I learned on this one was that John played the lead! Never thought as much, since it's such a departure from his signature slashing, rhythmic style. Also, Harrison's "dissonant chord" is also used in the break of "I Want You ...", before the "she's so heavy" choruses ...

[rhinomechanics]

JOHN LENNON. My Favorite singer Songwriter. Thanks Mr. Chain

[neilmartin]

Bravo.
Can you demonstrate the guitar part from I Want You/She's So Heavy?
😁

[androgyne]

At last! The Most accurate vidéo about this song !Finally ...😊😊😊

[Nobody_Important_Yea]

If Lennon and McCartney had never met, John would have been a Sid Vicious and Paul would have been a Barry Manilow.
The stars aligned and the world changed.

[GaZonk]

it's actually a really nice etude for the (transferable) skills needed

[One]

Although this is an excellent video, I’ve learned how to play it with a capo on the fourth fret playing very similar notes, which I believe are probably the harpsichord notes. After listening to the isolated guitar part here and comparing to the finished product with the harpsichord I prefer the latter. It’s also easier to play. Thanks, though

[bimwopbarn]

superb, as usual. what's particularly interesting is the points where the guitar diverges from the harpsichord and/or synth. I can't hear that on the record because (!) the layering is so lush and full. as an aside, in Beatles lore, John brought the song in and George Martin played either the harpsichord and/or synth parts. and George, an accomplished musician with great facility and a tremendous ear, had more trouble with the arpeggiation than John did. not to diss George, who's beyond great - but just to note how amazing John Lennon's guitar playing was.

[anthonyjeffreysantos]

It's a guitar tutorial that feels like a talk show