John Lennon - Happy Xmas - Guitar Lesson

About Happy Xmas

At 79 BPM in A major and standard E tuning, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" sits in a comfortable mid-tempo range, but don't let that lull you into thinking it plays itself. The song's guitar work centres on clean, arpeggiated chord shapes that need a light, even touch to keep the festive shimmer without sounding lumpy. Getting the right fingerpicking or hybrid-picking feel across the chord changes is where most players will want to spend their time, and the Practice Toolbar is ideal here: loop a bar or two slowed down until the pick-hand pattern becomes automatic. The key of A major keeps things in open-chord territory, so you can lean on shapes like A, D, and E, but the transitions between them need to be smooth and unhurried to honour the song's gentle pulse. John Lennon kept the guitar role supportive and textural rather than flashy, which means your tone and dynamics matter as much as your accuracy. This is a great piece for practising clean Pop Rock accompaniment where subtlety does all the work.

• The song sits at 79 BPM in A major, making open chord shapes like A, D, and E the natural foundation for the guitar part.
• A clean, arpeggiated or fingerpicked right-hand pattern is central to the guitar tone, so focus on keeping each note even and controlled.
• Standard E tuning is used throughout, so no retuning is needed, but practise the chord transitions slowly to keep the gentle feel intact.