How to Play While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

When Was While My Guitar Gently Weeps written

In this lesson is another great Beatles song that was written in 1968. The English band named The Beatles. The song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, was on ” the White Album”, George Harrison wrote the song.

In this lesson you will learn:

  • Chords needed to play the song, While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  • How to play While My Guitar Gently Weeps Rhythm
  • Two different chord progressions
  • Bonus Video

How to Play While My Guitar Weeps Acoustic Rhythm

The Rhythm of this song is:

One, two, three and four and 1, 2 ,3, and 4 and. Or it could be described as: down, down, down, up, down, up.

Most songs are in 4 time, just like While My Guitar Gently Weeps acoustic rhythm. 4 time is the measure of the rhythm. The pattern is repeated every 4 beats or time.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps Stratocaster
Stratocaster

Down down down up down up refers to strumming down and then up. 99 percent of the time you will be strumming. Learn how to strum in the strum guitar lesson. Click Here for a post to help with strumming.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps Chords Acoustic

There are several chords to While My Guitar Gently Weeps and they are:

  • A minor (Am)
  • A minor guitar chord with G in the Base.  (Am/G)
  • A minor guitar chord with F# in the base. (Am/F#)
  • F Major guitar chord
  • D Major  chord
  • E Major chord
  • C Major chord
  • G Major chord
  • A Major chord
  • C# minor chord (c#m)
  • B minor guitar chord (Bm)
  • F# minor guitar chord (F#m)

Note: The symbol # is sharp.

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Lets look at the chords to While My Guitar Gently Weeps acoustic chord chart.

A Minor Chord

How to play While My Guitar Gently Weeps on Guitar

The Am is the first chord in the song While My Guitar Gently weeps. Click here if you need help reading a chord chart.


Am/G Chord

While my Guitar Gently Weeps chord

Then you play the Am chord with the G in the base. Using your pinkie, stretch over to the 6th string, at the 3rd fret.

Related Article: Easy Beatle Songs on Guitar.


Am/F# Chord 

Am/F# chord

So far the song is surrounding the A minor. Again Am now with the F# in the base. Use your second finger to play the F# on the 6th string, second fret.

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 F Major Chord

While My Guitar Gently Weeps (6)

The F Major Barre chord is a difficult chord to master. Click here if you need help learning 5 different ways to play the f chord.


D Major Chord

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Notice that a lot of  the chords in While My Guitar Gently Weeps are open chords like this D chord. Click the link here if you want to learn more first position chords.


E Major Chord

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

This is another easy chord in the song. The E Major chord gives that deep base tone.


Related article: What is the best looper pedal.

C Major Chord

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

As you can see for the most part While My Guitar Gently Weeps by the Beatles is a fairly easy song to master. We have the open C Major Chord.


G Major Chord

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

The Next Chord is the G Major Chord. Hang in there! There are only 5 more chords to go.


A Major Chords 

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

You Could play this chord in the open position, but to make it easier to transition to the next chord. Playing the A Chord voicing at the 5th fret is best.


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C Sharp Minor Chord

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Then we have the C#m chord. Also known as a 5th string root chord.


B Minor And F# Minor Chords

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Finally we made it to the last two chords in the song. They are the Bm chord and the F#m chord.


Click the Link if you would like a complete cheat sheet of these chords to practice playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

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Two Different Chord Progressions for While My Guitar Gently Weeps 

There is really two sets of chord progressions in this song. The first progression has the Am chord with the G in the Base. When you see this on paper it looks like A minor slash G, Or Am/G. This is just letting you know to play the G in the base.

First Chord Progression

Am,  Am/G, Am/F#,  F,  D,  E,  C

You Make the Am Chord play it. Then the best way to put the G in the base is using your pinkie. Stretch it over to the 6th string 3rd fret, to play the G note. Then the next chord is the Am with the F sharp in the base. Use your middle finger or the second finger to pick the F# note. Which is on the 6th string at the 2nd fret. Then you play the F Major Barre Chord.

Then it goes back to the Am strum it. Then the Am/G, Am/F#, F chord. Then Am, G and D Major chord, And Finally the E chord.  Repeat. 

The first progression is played two times. Then on the next part you play the Am, Am/G in the base. Am/F# in the base, F chord, the Am,  G,  and C  instead of the D. So it is the same, but you play the C chord instead of the D. Finish it with the E.

That’s the first chord progression in the song While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

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Second Chord Progression

The second chord progression is:

A, C#m, Bm, Fm

Play the A chord, C Sharp minor , F sharp minor chord. Then go back to the C sharp minor. Then walk the chord down to the B minor chord. So you are playing the C#m, Cm, and ending up on the Bm. All in sequence. See details in the Video. Then it goes to the E major chord again.

There is a little walk up after the E chord that is in the video. It goes like this: Pluck the 6th string, the open E string. Then put your finger on the 1st fret of the 6th string, the F note. Pluck the F note and move quickly back to the A Major Chord.

If you struggle with walking up to the A chord, just stay strumming the E chord. You have to move pretty quick to get back to the A.

Then once you are back to the A Major chord you repeat this progression except when you get to the C#m chord the second time round you go right to the Bm instead of walking the chords down to the Bm. Then back to the E chord.

Then it goes back into the first chord progression.

I would suggest when your learning this song to keep it simple like that. Learn the Rhythm, the chords, and then practice each chord progression. If you learn one progression at a time then it makes this song so much easier to master. Remember in all things guitar keep it slow. One step at a time. It’s better to go slow and get it right, than to go fast and learn it wrong. Then it takes longer to “redo” and learn it.

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