Double Lesson: "You Got It" by Roy Orbison on Electric & Acoustic Guitar

Learn how to play the classic You Got It by Roy Orbison on electric and acoustic guitar! There's a ton of cool stuff to learn here: quirky strumming patterns, how to blend open chords with barre chords, and, of course, the iconic riff.

You Got It is the perfect song for learning separate electric and acoustic parts and mixing them. The arrangement is a little complicated, but the chunks repeat. Once you've learned the main framework - the verse, chorus, and pre-chorus - it's just a question of writing down the order and practicing it.

😪 I should point out that I missed a bar in the double chorus in my introduction cover. I hate making mistakes like that! And I also didn't hit the triplet crochets - I was too busy with my singing. Sorry! You can always jam along with the original if you want a perfect version. :)

We'll start with the acoustic parts and the arrangement. Then, we'll get to those wicked electric parts. Let's start with the intro to this Roy Orbison classic. :)

You Got It on the Acoustic Guitar: Intro & Verse

We need only open chords to play the intro: A, G, and D. There are a few variations for A and G; we'll cover my preferred grips for this song, but the choice is yours!

I teach my version of the A Chord to ensure you get good notes every time you play it. I think "Big G" sounds best in You Got It and switches easily to the D Chord. The verse progression is similar to the intro, but you'll need an Open E Chord.

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I promised you quirky strumming, so let's get to it! ;) Over the G and D chords in the intro and verses - but only when there's no vocal - the strumming pattern is a mix of 16th notes and eighth notes. We strum 16th notes in bars 1 and 3, but eighth notes in bars 2 and 4. When you sing the vocal lines, stick to even eighth notes, then return to the mixed pattern in the gaps. :)

🤔 Inconsistent Strumming? This switch might feel a bit strange because you have to interrupt the consistency of your strumming motion. I always say you should keep it steady, but we have to break the rules a little here. ;)

We'd normally keep our strumming arm moving at 16th-note speed for the whole bar, but I suggest you change your motion. Strum at eighth-note speed during bars 2 and 4, then twice as fast in bars 1 and 3. Playing the 8th notes with down strums is easier, making the transition between the two rhythms much smoother. But it just doesn't sound right!

Getting bars 2 and 4 consistent might be tricky after switching to 16th Note Strumming. It takes a bit of practice! It also depends on how precise you want to be. If I were to record myself for an album, I'd spend much time on this pattern. But maybe you don't need to get it absolutely spot on.

💡 How to Practice This Strumming Pattern? The best way is with muted strings - put your fretting hand around the strings to dampen them. When you strum, you should hear clicks, not notes! Using a thin pick also helps; I chose the nylon Dunlop 0.46mm. It's super-duper thin, making it much easier to nail the rhythm.

Try to keep the rhythm nice and even - it takes more effort and concentration than you might think. At the same time, you need to relax and feel loose to make it sound and feel good. Tension will make it sound weird!

You Got It on the Acoustic Guitar: Pre-Chorus

We'll need a few barre chords to play the pre-chorus of You Got It like the original record. You can swap some of them for open chords, but playing barre chords changes the sound and helps listeners to differentiate the various sections.

You'll need the A Chord with the E Shape, F#m with the Em Shape, C#m with the Am Shape, and E with the A Shape. It's nice and easy to switch between A and F#m - slide everything back three frets and lift off finger 2.

🚨 Need to polish up your barre chords? Head to my Intermediate Grades for detailed lessons on all of the essential grips.

The strumming pattern changes to a 50s-style rhythm that includes a fast DU. It's an awesome way to change the feel! You'll need the double strumming technique for this bit - switch to wrist strumming for those fast strums and use your arm for the other ones.

If you want to get really fancy, you can blend in the chips - moveable, mini chord shapes - that the electric guitar plays on "2+" and "4" in the pre-chorus. Just lift up your fretting hand slightly after those beats to make them stand out. It makes your playing sound really authentic and adds variation to your rhythm. :) We'll check out those chips later.

⚠️ Crotchet Triplets! There's a bit over the E of the pre-chorus where the rhythm is accented in crochet triplets. What on earth are those?

Basically, a triplet divides one beat into three, while crochet triplets divide three beats over the length of two. Counting is horribly difficult, so try to feel the groove!

You want to pay attention to this if you're playing in a band - it really adds to the arrangement and propels the listener into the chorus. If you're playing for friends and family, it's no big deal if you miss it out. :)

Now let's get to the chords and rhythm for the chorus.

You Got It on the Acoustic Guitar: Chorus

You'll need a couple of new grips to play the chorus, but it shouldn't be difficult if you've found You Got It easy so far. For F#m, I use my thumb for the bass note, finger 3 for the notes on strings 4 and 5, and finger 1 barring three strings.

💡 I learned this three-finger minor grip from the great Tommy Emmanuel! It’s pretty tough - it’s taken me years of practice to nail it - but it makes it super easy to switch from A to C#7 to F#m. :)

If you don't like that F#m grip, use the same F#m as before. We've also got an unusual A/E grip - it's A played as an E shape but without the notes on strings 6 and 1. Open string 6 is the bass note. The final uncommon chord is C#7 - we use the open C7 grip moved up one fret. ;) Otherwise, you need A, D, and E as open chords.

The rhythm is interesting - there's a push between C#7 and F#m. And the pattern isn't quite straight, but it's not a shuffle either. I suggest you listen to it loads to cop the groove - that's the only way you'll get it to sound authentic. See the video for the exact strumming pattern!

Arranging the Guitar Parts

We've looked at all the parts, so let's learn how to put them together! You Got It goes intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus & riff, instrumental chorus, pre-chorus, chorus & riff, and then, we end the song with a DU on the A chord.

Let's check out the electric parts for each section - they're really cool. Some of these parts are a combination of many layers and are designed to work for jamming with an acoustic player. The best way to tackle this is to learn each part separately and slowly bring them together.

You Got It on the Electric Guitar

Intro & Verse

In the intro and verse, you hear the electric guitar playing on beat 1 only (and on beat 3 when the chord lasts half a bar). Just strum each chord on the chord change and let it ring out. :)

Pre-Chorus

It gets a little trickier in the pre-chorus - we use chips on "2+" and "4". Strum on those beats, then rest your fretting hand to mute the strings. This is called pumping. Also, make sure the chip on beat 4 is much quieter - you can hear the difference on the original. :)

🔥 More Chips? Learn loads of chip shapes and how to move them around the neck with my Intermediate Foundations 5 lesson on chips, splangs and spreads.

We use the top four notes of the barre chord grips we learned for the acoustic guitar. Except for the E, we switch to a mini C Shape instead of the A shape from before. :) See the video tutorial to learn the shapes and jam with me.

Chorus

Confession time - I made this part up! But it sounds good. :) This is also based on mini chords, except we stay on strings 2, 3, and 4. We also play these in different positions to those in the acoustic part, so check out the video to get the right shapes.

You Got It by Roy Orbison: The Iconic Riff

It's a great idea to transcribe this riff yourself. Here's a hint: it starts with the open low E string, then climbs up an octave and, except for one note, runs down the E Major Scale. Give it a try to exercise those musical ears! Just be careful with the rhythm - it's pretty syncopated. ;)

While the riff is not hard, it's tricky to transition to and from it because of the funny rhythm. You'll need to practice changing from the pre-chorus and chorus to the riff.

And that's all the parts! Let's look at some final tips so that we really nail You Got It.

You Got It by Roy Orbison: Learning & Performance Tips

Once you've learned all the parts, try putting them together. Then identify your weak points - for example, you might see that one of the transitions is tricky. Go and practice that bit. :) Then go back to the full song and identify more weaknesses. Don't feel like you need to practice You Got It from beginning to end every time!

Finally, it's crucial you get the feel right. I suggest you play along with the original track - try to be so accurate with your time that you feel like you're part of the band. It's pretty tricky to do this - the beats on the original are so perfectly in time. It'll take some practice, but You Got It is the perfect song for it, and it's a great skill to develop.

That was a long one, but I really love doing these lessons with multiple guitar parts. You've got plenty to practice, so get to work! Have loads of fun with You Got It. :)

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