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The Who - Behind Blue Eyes Pt.2 - Guitar Lesson

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The Who - Behind Blue Eyes Pt.2 guitar lesson video
Guitar 365
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Classic Rock

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Eyes Blue Like The Atlantic, Pt. 2 (feat. Rxseboy) - Single album cover
Eyes Blue Like The Atlantic, Pt. 2 (feat. Rxseboy) - Single
2020 2:36
Listen on Spotify
The Who Classic Rock 2020

About Behind Blue Eyes Pt.2

Few songs in the Classic Rock catalog ask a guitarist to do so much with so little as "Behind Blue Eyes." The original by The Who is built around fingerpicked open chords in the verse, demanding a clean, patient touch before the song erupts into full strummed power chords in the chorus. The contrast between those two sections is really the whole lesson: keeping the quiet part genuinely quiet and controlled, then landing the loud part with real conviction. The chord voicings in the intro and verse are not technically complex, but placing each note evenly without a pick trips up a lot of players. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the fingerpicked intro slowed down until your right-hand pattern is completely automatic. Once that groove is locked in, the transition into the heavier strummed section will feel natural rather than rushed. Pay close attention to letting open strings ring fully, since muting too early will kill the spacious tone the song depends on.

  • The verse relies on fingerpicked open chords, so developing a steady, even right-hand picking pattern without a plectrum is the core challenge.
  • The song's dynamic structure, quiet fingerpicked verse into loud strummed chorus, requires deliberate control over your picking attack and volume.
  • Letting open strings ring fully through the chord changes is essential to achieving the airy, resonant tone the intro and verse depend on.
Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Townshend switched to Fender Stratocasters from the mid-1970s onward, using their stock single-coil pickups for clarity and chimey top-end that cut through massive stadium volumes when paired with his Hiwatt amps. The Strat's responsiveness to his dynamic, windmill attack made it ideal for The Who's power chord precision.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

While Townshend primarily used Les Paul Deluxes with mini-humbuckers, the Standard's full humbuckers would deliver a tighter, more compressed midrange that contrasts with his preferred P-90 aggression. A Standard represents a warmer, less cutting variation of his classic mod-era tone.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Les Paul Custom shares the Deluxe's mini-humbucker character that Townshend favored for a focused midrange, though its premium construction would offer slightly more sustain than his typical gigging instruments. Townshend valued stock electronics and destructive live performance over luxury features.

Marshall JTM45
Amp

Marshall JTM45

Townshend famously pushed Marshall JTM45s to their limits in the late 1960s, driving them into aggressive overdrive that influenced Marshall's louder amp designs. His volume demands and hard-hit playing style directly contributed to Marshall developing more powerful heads to match his revolutionary stage presence.

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