Originally I was going to put a disclaimer that the title of this piece wasn’t really true, just an eye-catching headline, but upon further consideration I believe it is accurate. While there might be other guitar chord books you want this is a book you must and should own: The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook.
Let me be specific: there are literally hundreds of Beatles books out there (guitar an others of course) and books with similar titles but the one you must have is, “The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook”. Obviously I have attached various links to where you can purchase this book but I want to be 100% clear, The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook. Okay now that you know the title, why must you own this book?
You might think my first answer will be, “Because The Beatles are great and they wrote fabulous songs,” and while that answer will be on my list it is not the number one reason. Even if you are not a Beatles fan, don’t like there songs or have some other inexplicable reason for not enjoying their music, there are several other reasons this book is essential. Here we go.
1. The book contains the chord progressions, chord diagrams (so you know what the chords look like) and capo locations to every song The Beatles wrote and recorded. What that means is you get hundreds of different chords and chord shapes in the context of real and fabulous songs. And I can tell you from experience the book is 98% accurate (almost all music books have some mistakes, the 2% in this book are minor and, for the most part, inconsequential). Note: The book does not contain the cover songs they recorded.
Many chord books simply give chord shapes, in different keys, with various fingerings but without any context. I feel it is absolutely pointless to learn four different shapes of a C#min(Maj7) but have no context in which to utilize it…but on page 14, “All My Loving”, of The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook you will find a fantastic use of C#min(Maj7) (note: in the book, in particular on page 14, they call the C#min(Maj7) a Caug chord, this is correct: C#min(Maj7) and Caug are the same chord. A quick theory note: When a chord contains four or more different pitches the chord can be known by at least six different names, depending on the context.)
2. The book is easy to use as it is small and most songs are written out completely on two pages. There are rare occasion when songs require a page turn: “I Am the Walrus” is three pages long. This makes it great for portability and sing-alongs.
One minor concern is the binding on the book. The book is bound in the traditional way (what I believe is called “perfect” binding). I would prefer a spiral binding for this book, as that makes it easier to keep the book open to the page you’re on (you know what I’m talking about), so I had this done at the local office supply store. They cut the old binding off and replaced it with a heavy spiral coil. This was quick and inexpensive to do, about $5. Make sure they know what they are doing before you hand your book over.
3. The book contains many more challenging chords then you might expect. You’ll often hear that The Beatles’ songs are easy to play but this is completely untrue. This article is not the forum to discuss the philosophy of easy vs. difficult, good vs. bad, etc. but let me just say The Beatles’ songs, as a whole, are as challenging as anything else you might learn. You try playing the harpsichord solo on “In My Life”!
As I mentioned above the book contains the enigmatic C#min(Maj7) and many other variations on this wonderful harmonic device. Other unusual but very useful and interesting chord shapes include: E7(b9) (“I Want to Tell You”, “I Me Mine”, “I Want You (She’s So Heavy), Emaug, also known as Em(#5) or Em(b6) (“Julie”, “Eleanor Rigby”) and more diminished chords then you might have expected.
4. The songs are great! Yes this is the obvious answer. If you are not a fan you might think you have a legitimate reason. Play through this book and, though it might not convert you (but it should), it will certainly leave you with a new appreciation for The Beatles’ music in general.
The Book’s Shortcomings
These are not complaints. I love this book and I do believe every guitar player should own it. But there are a few things that the book does not contain that some players might take issue with. What the book lacks is made up for by the list above but I thought it only fair to tell you a few things you won’t find in this book.
1. There are no strum patterns. The book assumes you know how the songs go. While the lack of strum patterns can seem challenging for many beginner players I also know that strum patterns themselves are difficult for many beginners to comprehend anyway. In this case, less is more.
2. There is no tablature for the hooks and riffs. Yes, this is unfortunate: hooks and riffs can be essential. Playing “Day Tripper” or “Lady Madonna” with just the chords is rather underwhelming. Adding tab to this book would, as with the strum patterns, only cluttered the layout. There are several other books and on-line guitar sites that provide all the tab you need.
3. There are no vocal melodies. Once again the book assumes you know the songs. If you don’t there is always Youtube where you can hear every Beatles’ song you don’t know (as well as many historical outtakes).
One final disclaimer: While I do have a book published by Hal Leonard (the same company that publishes The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook) I have no other personal or business association with this book. I was using this book long before my relationship with Hal Leo began. In fact it was fellow guitarist and teacher Matt Smith who told me about this book during our time teaching together at The National Guitar Workshop in Nashville, TN.
The End.
See you next week. For more on Shawn Persinger is Prester John please visit:
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Thanks Shawn! Gonna order it!
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