How to play Working Class Hero by John Lennon
Today's lesson will demonstrate how to play the simple acoustic classic "Working Class Hero" by the great John Lennon.
Released on John Lennon's first post Beatles solo album, the basic acoustic accompaniment on the original recording helps paint the picture John Lennon wanted to conjure up with this commentary/criticism on the difference between social classes.
It fits the song perfectly in that regard.
On a technical level, there isn't much to challenge you here. The entire song uses only 3 different basic chords (A min, G and D).
The only technique that might take a little practice is the hammer-on that he employs repeatedly over the A minor chord. In the video I will demonstrate the easiest way to not only perform this hammer-on easily, but also how to tackle the overall rhythm.
The entire verse is made up of just an A minor to G major progression. The D major chord comes at the very end of the chorus.
Pay close attention to the chord sequence that is being played when he is singing the refrain "A working class hero is something to be". I consider that to be chorus and it is at the end of that section the D major is used.
Also, during this chorus the timing of the chord changes is a little bit different than they are in the verse.
So that is about all there is to say about how to play Working Class Hero. It is simple a direct and shouldn't take you very long to master. 🙂
Carl..
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