Learn the Beatles classic "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" on the guitar!

In this super easy lesson, we'll learn how to play Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da by The Beatles on the acoustic guitar! This song is great for all guitar levels: beginners can play it with four open chords, while more advanced players can add some fancy stuff. ;)

We'll learn a different version from ordinary guitar covers, which often have a capo on Fret 1. With the capo on Fret 3, we avoid barre chords, and adding the bassline and embellishments is easier.

💡 Get chords, lyrics, and verified tabs for Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da by The Beatles with JustinGuitarTabs. You can get started with a free trial. :)

Now let's start with the chords for Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da.

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da by The Beatles - Guitar Chords & Progressions

You only need four chords for the basic outline of Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da: G, D, Em, and C. The progression for the verse is G, D, D, G; G, C, G, D, and G.

It changes slightly in the chorus - we play G, D, Em, G, D, and G. Then, there's just one more progression you'll need, which is for the bridge. It goes C, C, G, G; C, C, G, D. This repeats twice.

🎸 Need a hand with these chords? Head to Grade 1 of my Beginner’s Course to master the essential open guitar chords.

The structure is intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, and chorus!

It's a great idea to write down the lyrics with the chords and the number of beats for each so that you keep track. Once you feel confident with those chord progressions and the simple strumming, it's time to make it more authentic. :)

Learn the Authentic Strumming for Awesome Rhythm Guitar

Playing a bass-strum pattern is a great way to mimic the original Beatles vibe. We pick a bass string on the beats and strum the thinner strings on off-beats, using down strums each time.

💡 Change the Bass: You’ll need to remember to change the bass note when you change chords: pick string 6 for G and Em, string 5 for C, and string 4 for D.

This technique is useful for Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da: it pops up in many styles of music. So it's a great idea to spend some time practicing it. :)

Take this pattern and apply it to the chord progressions above. Make sure you can play the entire song with it before you move on! Build a solid foundation before adding anything more tricky.

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da by The Beatles - Add McCartney's Bassline

The next step is to mimic Paul McCartney's excellent bassline in our rhythm guitar. His original bass part has a slidey feel, but we can get close by using hammer-ons over G and C.

Start with the bassline for the G chord, taking it nice and slow. You need to practice this until it's natural because the original is pretty quick! If you can't do it slowly, you'll find it tough to play at full speed. Once you can play it with G, explore the bassline with C.

Over D and Em, you can add depth to the bass by using the bass-strum pattern and alternating between two bass notes.

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da by The Beatles - Add Upstrums

You can spice up the bass-strum pattern by adding some up strums between the downstrums.

This will likely happen naturally when you play the song at full speed. But having too many doesn't sound good, so use your ear to decide when up strums are appropriate. :)

We've looked at the basic chords and several rhythm tricks, so let's discuss how to make your chords fancier. ;)

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da by The Beatles - Chord Embellishments

One possibility is to switch to D7 in the third bar of the verse. This means the first four bars are G, D, D7, and G. You can also play D7 instead of D in the second-last bar of the verse progression.

🚨 Swap D for D7: Since this song is in the key of G, you can choose a D7 whenever there's a D. Use your ear! Remember - if it sounds good, it is good.

In the bridge, you can add a melody line over the two bars of G. We're looking to add the notes B, A, G, and F, which you can hear in the original. It's pretty easy - add extra fingers to the basic G chord and target the correct strings.

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da by The Beatles - Capo 1 Version

As I mentioned, this capo-3 version isn't what guitarists usually play - I made it up! The standard version of Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, has a capo on fret 1 and uses the chords A, E, D, and F#m.

The only downside is that F#m is a barre chord, and the capo position makes it tricky to play the bass riff over the chords.

Playing Tips & Your Guitar Cover

The beauty of Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da is that you can start simple and grow it as your technique and guitar knowledge improves.

If you're a beginner, stick to simple strumming and open chords. With time, you can add the bass-strum technique, the bassline, and the up strums.

Though we go into specific techniques and embellishments, I encourage you to make up your version. Learning the original is a great idea; you can learn a lot but do your own thing too.

You might like to explore this with a capo on Fret 1 or do a duet with two different capo positions. ;) There are loads of possible approaches - explore!

🎵 Check out all my The Beatles song lessons to learn more Fab Four classics on guitar.