The Beatles - Something - All Chords, Rhythms & Fills - Guitar Lesson

About Something - All Chords, Rhythms & Fills

"Something" is one of the most rewarding fingerpicking studies in the Beatles catalog, and getting it right on guitar means paying close attention to the interplay between the bass movement and the chord voicings above it. The song is built around descending bass lines that walk underneath sustained chords, so your fretting hand needs to hold shapes cleanly while your picking hand keeps the bass notes clear and separate. In C major, the chord vocabulary is wider than it first looks: you will move through major, minor, minor-seventh, and dominant shapes, and the transitions between them need to be smooth to keep the flowing feel intact. The fills between vocal phrases are short but expressive, requiring some control over vibrato and bending. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop any of those fills slowed down until the phrasing feels natural rather than mechanical. The Beatles recorded the track with a lush arrangement, but the guitar part holds up beautifully on its own.

• The song's signature guitar part relies on a descending chromatic bass line held beneath open chord voicings, demanding independent control of bass and treble strings.
• Smooth chord transitions between major, minor, and dominant seventh shapes are the main technical challenge, so isolating each change with the Practice Toolbar is time well spent.
• The brief fills between vocal lines call for controlled vibrato and light bending, making them a good focused exercise for expressive lead phrasing.