Struggling to Play Beatles Songs on Guitar

[Newmusician93]

I always thought Beatles songs would be easy to play on guitar, the typical four-chord stuff, until I actually started trying to play them. Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips on how to improve?

[UKPete24]

They experimented heavily in the studio, and it's notoriously hard to get the exact recorded sound for that exact reason. Weird tunings, layers, speed shifts, tape distortion, etc.

[BluesGuy]

The thing that's easy to forget is that the Beatles had a huge range of influences. Obviously rock and roll was the big one, but rnb, jazz standards, ragtime, music hall and classical music all seep into the music, even in their early albums and make it more interesting than if their only influences had been the obvious ones.

[Newbie]

There are so many great Beatles songs and they are fun because they are challenging.

[Markw72]

1. They were heavily inspired by people like Chuck Berry and a lot of instrumental-driven rock of their early teens. They played a ton of covers and gigged constantly, refining their skills. George and John both started playing pretty early, as kids.

[StudioPro]

For my money, it's easier to learn from their live recordings. Because a lot of the weird chords they liked were a product of not having formal training (or the internet). It's chord shapes that sounded good and were easy to fret.

[JoeRowleyGuitar]

What are you having trouble with in particular?