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Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles is great for beginner guitarists. And as you advance on your journey, you can add extra elements to make it sound authentic. In this lesson, we'll learn a beginner-friendly version along with some cool tricks that bring it to life. :)
Have you ever wondered how the Beatles’ legacy has endured for several decades? Sixty years on, they're still iconic. Their trick was to take simple musical concepts and tweak them to create a unique, timeless sound. Eleanor Rigby is a perfect example of that - it’s the minor technical details that make this song clever!
I didn’t sing in the demo because this song just isn't in my vocal range - sorry! :(
To play Eleanor Rigby, you’ll only need the C and Em open chords, which we cover in the early stages of my Beginner Guitar Course.
But we'll also check out the quirks that give Eleanor Rigby its character and look at how to mimic them on guitar. As you learn new techniques and grow as a guitarist, you can revisit it and add your own ideas.
We'll also look at how to shift the dynamics using different strumming patterns, a crucial skill for any guitar player.
The structure of Eleanor Rigby is bridge, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. Let’s start with the real basic beginner version with simple strumming. It’s tricky to strum only on beat 1 of the bar in this song, so we’ll strum on beats 1 and 3.
Eleanor Rigby starts with the bridge! Weird, eh? It’s easy to play, though: it's two reps of C, C, Em, Em.
The verse is two reps of Em, Em, Em, C, |C Em |. Yep, it’s a five-bar sequence! It’s tricky to count this, so I suggest you use the lyrics as a guide: the chords fit perfectly with them. In the video, I do a vocal demo with the chords so you can get used to the changes. :)
👂 Listen: Chord sequences usually last four bars or multiples of four, so the five-bar sequence in Eleanor Rigby can be awkward to play. If you’re familiar with the song, the progression will make more much sense. Give it a few listens to get a feel for the timing before you play it.
The strings play on the beat throughout most of the original song, which helps you pick up the timing. When you’re playing along with the recording, use these beats as an anchor to keep you in place.
And the chorus is essentially eight bars of Em, but we look at how to add the melody to make it sound authentic. It’s a little tricky, but I explain it all in the video. ;)
Start by accompanying the original recording with two strums per bar. This is a great idea because you get the full feeling of the music and you're forced to change chords at the right time! But if there’s a place you mess up often, stop the track and work on that bit. Don’t just repeat your errors over and over.
💡 Learning Tip: It helps to have the chord progressions in front of you - you can either write them out or head to JustinGuitarTabs for full verified chords, lyrics and tabs.
If you're ready to make it sound more authentic, let's keep going.
Let's cover a few strumming variations for the bridge, verse, and chorus. We'll also add accents to tweak the sound and look at a cool fingerstyle pattern.
Start out by strumming on beats 1 and 3 for the entire song until you know it well. After that, you can keep this pattern for the bridge but vary the verse pattern. In the verse, try strumming on all four beats to mimic the strings.
As for the chorus, the Old Faithful pattern works great. If you also add in the melody trick from above, it’ll sound wicked! These are just my ideas - try to add your own twist. :)
🤔 Multiple Strumming Patterns? But why are we playing different patterns? Don’t we use only one pattern for the whole song? No - varying your rhythm is essential if you want to keep the listener interested. If you’re a beginner and only know the basics, rhythm is one of your biggest tools for achieving this. Master this skill with my Strumming Dynamics course.
This is a simple trick that brings your rhythm guitar to life. Your playing will often sound flat if all your strums are the same volume. By making beats 2 and 4 louder than the others, we add a drum feel, and it sounds much groovier.
How do we do this? On beats 1 and 3, we strum mostly the thickest strings, and on beats 2 and 4 we strum all six strings. This works for all three rhythm patterns we've covered. Give it a go and notice how your strumming comes to life. :)
Remember to play for your difficulty level! If you’re a beginner, start slow and ease into it. You can always add the tweaks later as you get more comfortable with them.
If you want to make it sound even more authentic, let’s look at a fingerstyle pattern. You can play the verse with a simple “grabbing” pattern: you pluck the strings on the beat then immediately rest them on the strings to mute them. Since you won’t have a pick, you need to strum the choruses with your fingers too! We look at a nice chorus pattern in the video.
Eleanor Rigby is a great grower song. You can start real simple, focusing on your chord changes and time, then add new elements as you grow as a player, like the melodic part, the fingerstyle, and the dynamic changes. Have fun!
Check out the original
Learn how to play Half the World Away by Oasis—a great song for advancing beginners. :) We'll explore unique chord grips like C/G and Fmaj7/C that add a special flavor to the melody. From the intro to the chorus, this song takes you on a musical journey with chords like C, F, A minor, D7, and more.