Quick And Easy Yellow Submarine Chords & Guitar Lesson

Imagine walking into your band rehearsal with a new song and telling your mates the hook goes:

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We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine...

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Well, that’s what Paul McCartney did when he introduced this song to The Beatles that he wrote specifically for Ringo Starr to sing.

Below I’m going to dive into the guitar styles behind it.

So grab your axe and let’s get started with this “Yellow Submarine” chords and guitar lesson!

Who Wrote Yellow Submarine?

As I mentioned above Paul McCartney is the primary songwriter for “Yellow Submarine”. However, the tune was officially credited to the Lennon-McCartney partnership. The inspiration for this little ditty came about after McCartney thought of the line "We all live in a yellow submarine." 

It’s one of the select Beatles songs Ringo Starr sang the lead on. Ringo brought his unique and lighthearted character to The Beatles' catalog. His lead vocals can also be heard on other tunes like "With A Little Help From My Friends", "What Goes On", and "Act Naturally. 

Although it seems like an odd song, it’s been very well-received. "Yellow Submarine" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London during the sessions for their album Revolver in 1966. 

The recording sessions involved unconventional techniques, like the use of tape loops and sound effects, which were relatively new at the time. The production also included the sound of a brass band, making it stand out from typical Beatles tracks.

The sound effects in the track – like the bubbling underwater sounds and the voices of children laughing – were all added in post-production to enhance the dreamlike quality of the song.

Although "Yellow Submarine" wasn’t released as a single in most regions, it gained widespread popularity after Revolver was released. It became one of the most recognizable Beatles songs, particularly for younger audiences. The song was also later used as the title for both a 1968 animated film and the 1969 album by The Beatles. 

The song’s use in the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine gave it new life and further embedded it into pop culture. The film became a cult classic, with the song playing a central role in its surreal, psychedelic storyline.

Now, you may be wondering…

What is the tuning for Yellow Submarine?

The tuning for "Yellow Submarine," as recorded by The Beatles is Eb standard. The main acoustic guitar strumming opens chords in this tuning. Eb standard is spelled: Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, and Eb.  

Here are the strings:

• Eb (6th string, lowest pitch)
• Ab (5th string)
• Db (4th string)
• Gb (3rd string)
• Bb (2nd string)
• Eb (1st string, highest pitch)

Now that you know the “Yellow Submarine ” tuning, let’s next talk about the…

Yellow Submarine Chords

If you want to play “Yellow Submarine” on guitar, you’ll need to know 5 main chords they are D, C, G, Em, and Am. (Again, keep in mind these are the chords for the guitar in Eb standard tuning. The concert pitch chords would be Db, Cb, Gb, Ebm, and Abm. But I will just be referring to the guitar shapes.) All of these can be played in open position. Let’s take a look at a few ways they can be played on the fretboard.

D can be played from the 4th string down like so:

C is played from the 5th string down like this:

G uses all 6 strings in more of a folk-style like this:

Em uses all 6 strings as well like so:

If you’ve struggled to understand the fretboard for RHYTHM and LEAD guitar and want to discover the easiest and fastest way. Then get your hands on my free fretboard guide PDF right here now:  

Is Yellow Submarine hard to play on guitar?

“Yellow Submarine” is a great song for late beginner guitarists. To play it you will need to be able to make several chord transitions and also learn the 2 main sections. However, over all, it is not super advanced.

What key is Yellow Submarine in?

“Yellow Submarine” as recorded The Beatles is in the key of Gb major concert pitch. However, as mentioned above the guitar part is tuned down ½ step. This means the guitar plays in the key of G major.  The primary scale being used (from a guitar perspective) in the song is the G major scale which is built using the notes: G, A, B, C, D, E, and F#. 

Let’s take a look at how all the chords relate in the key of G major:

D Major (V):

The D major chord is the dominant (V) in the key of G major. It is built on the 5th note (D) of the G major scale. It is a major chord, and it creates a sense of tension that wants to resolve to the tonic (G major). This is the first chord played in the song.

C Major (IV):

The C major chord is the subdominant (IV) in the key of G major. It is built on the 4th note (C) of the scale. This chord often leads to the dominant (D major) or back to the tonic (G major).

G Major (I):

The G major chord is the tonic (I) in the key of G major. It is built on the 1st note (G) of the scale and is the "home" chord that all other chords want to resolve to.

E Minor (vi):

Em is the relative minor (vi) in the key of G major. It is built on the 6th note (E) of the scale. The minor chords in a major key (ii, iii, and vi) have a more melancholic, less resolved quality than the major chords.

A Minor (ii):

Am is the supertonic (ii) in the key of G major. It is built on the 2nd note (A) of the scale. It is a minor chord and often functions as a pre-dominant chord, leading into the dominant (D major).

So that’s the theory, next, let’s look at…

What is the strumming pattern for Yellow Submarine?

The main underlying strumming pattern in the guitar part for “Yellow Submarine” is a swinging 8th note groove. In 4/4 time, with a swing feel, you count 8th notes like this:

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

But with swing, the "and" is shortened, and the numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) get the longer, emphasized beat. You would count it as:

1 (long) + (short), 2 (long) + (short), 3 (long) + (short), 4 (long) + (short)

Or, you can count it out loud with syllables like this:

 "1 (long) and (short), 2 (long) and (short), 3 (long) and (short), 4 (long) and (short)"

The key is to play the first 8th note of each pair a bit longer and the second one a bit shorter, giving it that characteristic swing feel.

Here’s an example of an “Yellow Submarine” strumming pattern:

Conclusion

Bottom line, “Yellow Submarine” is a fun crowd-pleaser song.  

Keep practicing, and if you want to learn tunes faster, better understand the fretboard, and not waste years spinning your wheels with guitar, grab my free fretboard guide PDF right here now:    

Jon MacLennan