Riff Rundown
Difficulty: Easy - Intermediate
Genre: Rock
For Electric or Acoustic guitar
This Lennon classic doesn't even have a guitar part in it. What we have for you is actually the piano part. It's sometimes fun to play a piece of music from a different instrument. Each instrument has it's own approach to music and sometimes it's not a bad idea to borrow ideas from other instruments.
"Imagine" Intro & Verse
How To Play It
To replicate the piano it's probably best that you fingerpick this one. You can use a pick, but it's a little tricky in spots if you do decide to use one. It uses basic chord forms, so most of the work is done with the right (picking) hand. Pick the notes on the A string with your thumb, pick the notes on the D string with your 1st finger, pluck the notes in the G string with your 2nd finger, pluck on the B string with your 3rd finger, and pluck on the high E string with your 4th finger.
It's best to practice it one section at a time, so we'll take the intro and work on it first. Both the intro and most of the verse is compromised of the same two measure repeated over and over:
It's has only 3 chord forms. The rest of the work is done with the right hand (or left if you play left handed).
The next part of the verse is a little more complicated, so it may it may take a little more practice time. It has many more chord forms and moves from chord shape to chord shape quicker.
Here are 7 chord forms that make up the section of the riff:
Bridge
The bridge is just more of the same. Take the time to break it down like we did in the first riff and practice each section one at a time until you are able to bring it all together.
Video
Here's the intro: