How to play Imagine by John Lennon
Imagine by John Lennon is perhaps the most famous Pop ballad of all. The 1971 original was a huge international hit and in the decades since Imagine has built an enduring cultural presence that places it beyond the realms of mere Pop. There are many recorded cover versions, and it has become synonymous with Olympic Games opening/closing ceremonies, but the original still shines above all others. This suggested version for fingerstyle guitar is based on the original piano accompaniment.
Genre: Classic Pop
Chords: C F/C F Am Dm Dm/C G C/G G7 E E7 : The original is in the key of C Major but the recorded pitch is slightly flat by digital era standards.
Paris Olympics 2024 version: The version of Imagine performed by Juliette Armanet at the opening ceremony of the 2024 games is, unusually, in the key of F# Major. This is not too hard for a keyboard player but F# Major is not a good key on the guitar. This chart can be played with a capo at the 6th fret to create the F# version, and this suits a high vocal range, but we suggest you try F Major at the 5th fret, or Eb at the 3rd fret to create a comfortable higher guitar version than the original.
Picking style: This chart is written for finger picking on acoustic guitar. It suits both steel and nylon string instruments. It’s a great example of ‘piano style’ on guitar; the thumb plays the bass (p) followed by a three-note chord picked by index, middle and ring fingers (i m a).
Can it work on electric guitar? Whilst this chart is intended for acoustic guitar, it could work on an electric guitar but not on really narrow gauge strings; finger picking needs stronger strings to create a full tone. It could, however be adapted to pick style and then will better suit the projection of an electric guitar.
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : To learn more about the chords and finger picking in Imagine go to pages 8, 12-13, 17-19 and 45 in MGCS1. For a detailed course in finger picking and it’s stylistic applications check out the very useful Modern Guitar Fingerstyles 1.
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 is the perfect companion for our song guides- it is specifically designed to help beginners speed up their chord changes, master their strumming patterns, and many other techniques.