Learn an acoustic guitar version of "Video Games" by Lana Del Rey!

In this easy lesson, we'll learn how to play Video Games by Lana Del Rey on the acoustic guitar! The original uses mostly synths and keyboards, but this guitar arrangement sounds great and suitable for Advancing Beginners.

🎤 Video Games might be tricky to sing in the original key, so I did my cover without a guitar capo. :) If you want to play it in the original key, place your capo on the second fret and use the same chords.

Now let's get stuck in and learn how to play Video Games. Check out the video lesson or head to JustinGuitarTabs for chords, lyrics, and verified tabs!

Intro & Verse Chord Progression

You only need four chords to play the intro and verses for Video Games. The chord progression is:

|Em  G | |Em  G |
|G/B C | |C   C |
|Em  G | |Em  G |
|G/B C | |Em    |

Note that we strum the first C once, then let it ring out for one and a half bars - this is called a hold. We play this progression twice for one verse or intro.

🔥 I like to use a special voicing for the G chord, as I show in this video lesson. ;) If this grip is a bit tricky, go for the one you like most - or play around with these G chord variations.

Intro & Verse: Rhythm Guitar

The rhythm of the original Video Games is super simple. To mimic it, strum once on each chord. This sounds authentic and gives it a 2:2 feel - listen to the record. :)

That said, I often add an extra D U on each chord, especially in the second rep of the progression. This gives a fuller sound, but don't go overboard - it's a gentle song!

Start by practicing one strum per chord. Add extra strums in the second four bars once you're comfortable with the rhythm and changes.

Pre-Chorus

On to the pre-chorus, Lana Del Rey sings, "It's you, it's you, it's all for you…" And there's good news - this is a super-easy section. The progression is D D D D, and we use a simple eighth-note strumming pattern.

🎤 Pre-Chorus Melody: You might wonder why the pre-chorus works so well. The trick is in the vocal melody. ;) Here, Lana Del Rey mostly sings the note B - the 6th of D. This creates a lovely clash, which resolves in the chorus.

Chorus

Most of the chorus is easy, but it has a couple of tricky bits: the vocal and the Cm6 chord. The vocal begins during the final bar of D in the pre-chorus: "I tell you all the time," and we hit the chorus chords on the word "time."

The progression is pretty easy: it's two reps of C, G, Em, C, then a bar of Cm6. There's also a passing chord between G and Em: we strum F once on beat 4.

If you're singing, it helps to know that she sings the note B (the 7th of C) with the word "true." Pick the open B string and try to sing it! You might have noticed that nasty little chord at the end, Cm6, which is by far the trickiest chord in the song.

How to Play Cm6 on Guitar

You'll need four fingers to play the full Cm6 jazz grip. I suggest you practice One-Minute Changes between C and Cm6 - it's a tricky change!

💡 Cm6 voicings: If the four-finger version seems too tricky right now, don’t worry - there are plenty alternatives. In the video, we look at a couple of open mini Cm chords, and even a couple of alternate Cm6 grips. :)

You might be wondering why we play Cm6 at all. What a random chord!

It is strange, but it works well in the key of G. It's an extension of Cm, a chord The Beatles used a lot. They often played G, C, Cm, and G, switching from the IV to the IV minor. That IV minor adds dissonance to the sound, and adding the 6th strengthens the contrast. :) This is just one of many Beatles tricks stolen by later artists - like Lana Del Rey!

We've covered all the technical details - time to look at the arrangement.

Video Games: Song Structure

The song structure is as follows:

intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus;

verse, pre-chorus, chorus, interlude;

pre-chorus, chorus, outro.

Part of the intro progression repeats after the choruses, and you play it twice for the interlude and outro sections. Listen to the original Video Games to get the exact structure. :)

Learn this version of Video Games, then make it your own! There's no guitar on the original, so you have plenty of room for exploration. Get creative - try fingerstyle, rock techniques, power chords, and much more. Enjoy! :)

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