Let It Be is one of those songs that just works on guitar. Yes, it’s a piano song—but the chord progression translates beautifully, and it’s a perfect way to practice your basic open chords in a real musical context.
In this lesson, Marty Schwartz breaks down all the chords, the strumming pattern, and those signature walk-downs that make this song sound complete.
Video Lesson
The Chords
Good news—this song uses all basic open chords. If you know these four shapes, you can play the entire song:
C Major: Ring finger on 3rd fret of the A string, middle finger on 2nd fret of the D string, index finger on 1st fret of the B string.
G Major: Middle finger on 3rd fret of the low E, index finger on 2nd fret of the A string, ring finger (or pinky) on 3rd fret of the high E.
A Minor: Middle finger on 2nd fret of the D string, ring finger on 2nd fret of the G string, index finger on 1st fret of the B string. Start your strum from the open A string.
F Major (simple version): Ring finger on 3rd fret of the D string, middle finger on 2nd fret of the G string, index finger on 1st fret of the B string. Let your index finger lightly mute the high E so it doesn’t ring out.
The Verse Progression
The verse follows this pattern:
C – C – G – G – Am – F – C – G
Then it repeats, but the second time through ends differently:
C – C – G – G – Am – F – C – G – F – F – C
The Chorus
The chorus (“Let it be…”) uses the same chords but starts on A minor:
Am – G – F – C – C – G – F – F – C
Then repeats.
Strumming Pattern
Keep it simple: Down Down Down Down-Up
Repeat that pattern through each chord. It’s steady and even—nothing fancy, just solid rhythm that lets the chord changes shine.
The Walk-Downs
This is where the song gets interesting. There are two walk-downs that add a lot of polish:
F to C Walk-Down
Start with your F chord. Strum it twice, then lift your ring finger and move your middle finger to the 2nd fret of the D string. Strum that (aiming for the D string), then add your ring finger to the 3rd fret of the A string and strum the full C chord.
The sequence: F – F – (middle finger on 2nd fret D) – C
C to Am Walk-Down
Same idea, but from C to A minor. Start with your C chord, lift the ring finger, move your middle finger to the 2nd fret of the A string, then release into A minor.
This one lines up perfectly with the words “Let it be”—the walk-down happens right as you sing “be.”
The Interlude
There’s a cool organ-style interlude you can play on guitar:
Start with F, immediately walk down (middle finger to 2nd fret of D), then lift to the open D string, then land on C.
Then play just the 1st fret of the A string by itself, followed by the open A string (or a quick A minor), then G – F – C – G – F – C.
It’s a bit tricky at first, but it captures that signature melodic moment from the original recording.
Tips
- Focus on clean chord changes first. Get comfortable moving between C, G, Am, and F before adding the walk-downs.
- The F chord is the hardest part. If you’re struggling, the simplified version (muting the high E) works perfectly for this song.
- Keep your strumming hand steady. The rhythm is simple, so consistency matters more than complexity.
- Add the walk-downs last. They’re the icing on the cake, but the song sounds great without them too.
This is one of those songs that sounds impressive but is totally achievable for beginners. Once you’ve got it, you’ll realize you can play dozens of other songs with the same chord shapes.
Rock on!