Learn to play 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'

This instalment of #PaperbackWriter is from Leo, the founder of SixStringTips, a music website providing useful information to help people learn and play musical instruments (guitar, violin, ukulele). Here he shares his top tips on learning to play ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’.

Instrument of Choice

Our instrument of choice will be the guitar. The guitar comes very handy when it comes to learning guitar. The Beatles really focused on the guitar part. So we can hope your guide will be fun, entertaining, and useful.

What can you hope after following the guide?

You will be able to play all the song just like The Beatles. Some practices are required. You will also gain some experience with different types of chords. Last but not the least, You will be able to show off to your friends or you can sing these for your loved ones.

“I Want to Hold Your Hand”

I Want to Hold Your Hand is one of the first songs by The Beatles. The song entered Billboard Hot 100 in 1964, standing at number 45. The song reached number one spot on the British record chart on the day it was released. There is no doubt the song was a massive hit. The song is a love song with beautiful lyrics. This might be the perfect song to impress your crush with its magical lyrics.

Chord Guide

The verse and chorus are in the same key. But in the middle of the song, it was played in a totally different key. The song’s verse and chorus are in the key of G Major. The G Major key consist of G major, A minor, B minor, C major, D major, E minor, and F#. For the song, chords used are G major, C major, D major, E minor, and B seventh.

During the bridge of the song, it changes to the key of C major. The C Major key consists of C major, D major, E major, F major, G major, A major, and B major. The chords used in the song are D minor, G major, C Major, and A minor

Let’s take a look at the tab for a better understanding of the song. After looking at the guitar tab, we will be able to tell when and where to play the chords.

[Verse]

(G)             (D)

Oh yeah, I’ll tell you something

(Em )                          ( Bm)

I think you’ll understand

(G)               (D)

When I say that something

(Em)                             (B7)

I wanna hold your hand

[Chorus]

(C)             (D)            (G )   ( Em)

I wanna hold your hand

(C)               (D)         (G)

I wanna hold your hand

[Bridge]

(Dm7)               (G)                     (C)       (Am)

And when I touch you I feel happy inside

(Dm7)             (G)              (C)

It’s such a feeling that my love

(C)      (D)      (C)     (D)      (C)    (D)

I can’t hide – I can’t hide – I can’t hide

Tab for the song can be found here.

Rhythm

The intro starts with C major and D major chords. It is on a little off-beat. Two down stokes on C major following by two D major. Then we put multiple down-strokes on the D major, which will lead us into the song. The verse rhythm is down &, down &, down, up, down. But for the chorus, the rhythm is slightly changed. We have to play two beats per chords, which are two down-strokes. For the bridge part, the rhythm stays the same as the verse.

Video Tutorial

Tips to Play The Song

To learn the song, the first thing you want to do is listen to the song carefully and sync in with the tempo. Without a piece of proper knowledge about the song, it can get a little hard to play. Master one segment then move forward. Don’t rush in to learn the complete lesson. It is advised to master every part step by step. Practice, practice, and practice!

I Want to Hold Your Hand is a love song. So it is necessary to focus both on the music and the vocal. To practice vocal, try matching your vocal with the chords. This is the type of song you want to sing from the heart. But the song is difficult and is pretty hard to sing for its high notes. While you learn the song make sure you play it from the heart and the vocal to get the best possible outcome. Don’t rush in!

For more information and to learn to play more Beatles songs, visit https://sixstringtips.com/