Beatles Rubber Soul 5-Pack

Lessons

• Lesson 1: What You're Doing

  By the end of 1964 The Beatles released their fourth album, and all just in 2 years, Beatles For Sale. Many of the songs were considered fillers but all of them included some interesting licks and progressions, along with great arrangements, compelling vocals harmonies, and tasty guitar leads.

  What You’re Doing is a good example of a song that seems like filler but still has some things worth learning and working on. The lesson goes over the main lick and progression but also goes into the short solo George played on a 12-string, as well as a few different ways of tackling the intro.

• Lesson 2: Here, There And Everywhere - The Beatles - Guitar Lesson

  In 1966 The Beatles recorded and released Revolver, an album that really took their studio skills to another level. Here, There And Everywhere is a Paul McCartney song that remained stripped down to a basic guitar accompanying a beautiful melody.
  
  The song switches between the keys of G Major and G Minor (Bb Major), and uses quite a few barre chords. The strumming is mostly a modified arpeggio, using two bass notes before an accented downstroke. We also talk a bit about George’s short lead fills.

• Lesson 3: Girl - The Beatles - Guitar Lesson

  From The Beatles 1965 album Rubber Soul, Girl is a John Lennon composition that may have been his answer to Paul’s Michelle. It is played with a capo way up the neck, in the guitar-friendly key of E Minor, although we also have G Major and A Minor represented.
  
  The strumming is done with a soft swing. The lesson also looks at incorporating George’s single note lines into the strumming.

• Lesson 4: Wait

  The Beatles 1965 album was loaded with classic tunes of theirs. Most people would not consider Wait as one of them. This was a McCartney tune that they did not spend much time on, although it had been considered for inclusion on Help, but it does have some interesting things for guitar players.

  George Harrison mostly played 2-note chords while Paul filled in the roots on the bass. This lesson combines those into a hybrid picking style using the pick along with 2 fingers to grab the chords. This is a great song to learn this technique if you have thought about getting into it.

   

• Lesson 5: If I Needed Someone - The Beatles – Guitar Lesson

  If I Needed Someone is an early George Harrison song, released in 1965 on The Beatles album Rubber Soul. It shows some of his developing interest in Indian music, using a droning bass note underneath a mixolydian melody. It is played with a capo at the seventh fret, moving the ‘D’ shape chord into the key of A.
  
  The song comes of of a little noodling around the ‘D’ shape, something that produced Here Comes The Sun a few years later. It also featured George’s Rickenbacker 12-string and borrowed a bit from The Byrd’s version of The Bells Of Rhymney.
  
  The lesson includes a couple different approaches to picking technique, including alternating, hybrid, and finger picking, as well as a look at John Lennon’s second guitar part, played without a capo.