How to Play Wouldn’t It Be Nice Chords by The Beach Boys on Guitar
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is a classic song by the American rock band The Beach Boys, released in 1966 as the opening track of their album Pet Sounds. The song is a romantic and optimistic expression of youthful love, featuring lush vocal harmonies, intricate arrangements, and a catchy melody. The song was written by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, and Mike Love, and produced by Wilson.
If you want to learn how to play “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” on guitar, you will need to know some basic chords, strumming patterns, and chord progressions. In this article, we will show you how to play the song in the key of A major, using a capo on the first fret. You can also transpose the song to any other key you prefer, or play it without a capo if you are comfortable with barre chords.
Chords
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" (Brian Wilson / Tony Asher) [Intro:] A F#m Bm D v v v v v v v v -------17----------------|-------17----------------| ----------17-------17----|----------19-------19----| ----18-------18-19----18-|----19-------19-21----19-| -19----------------------|-21----------------------| -------------------------|-------------------------| -------------------------|-------------------------| A F#m C v v v v v v v v -------17----------------|-------17----------------| ----------17-------17----|----17----17-------17----| ----18-------18-19----18-|-17----------17-19----17-| -19----------------------|-------------------------| -------------------------|-------------------------| -------------------------|-------------------------| [Verse 1:] F Wouldn't it be nice if we were older Bb Gm7 And we wouldn't have to wait so long C7 F And wouldn't it be nice to live together Bb Gm7 C7 In the kind of world where we belong Dm7/A Cm7/F You know it's gonna make it that much better Dm7/A Am7 Gm7 C7 When we can say goodnight and stay together [Verse 2:] F Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up Bb Gm7 In the morning when the day is new C7 F And after having spent the day together Bb Gm7 C7 Hold each other close the whole night through Dm7/A Cm7/F What happy times together we'd be spending Dm7/A Am7 Gm7 C7 I wish that every kiss was never ending F Oh, wouldn't it be nice v v v v v v v v -----------------|---------------| -----------------|---------------| -----2-----2-3-2-|---------------| -----------------|-------3---3---| -----------------|---3-5-------5-| -----------------|---------------| [Bridge] (guitar repeats first two bars of intro): Dmaj7 Gmaj7 F#m7 Bm7 Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray it might come true Dmaj7 Gmaj7 F#m7 Bm7 Baby then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do F#m7 Bm7 We could be married (we could be married) F#m7 C7 - last two bars of intro - And then we'd be happy (then we'd be happy) F Oh, wouldn't it be nice [Coda:] (slow down) Dm7/A Cm7/F You know it seems the more we talk about it Dm7/A Am7 Gm7 It only makes it worse to live without it Am7 Gm7 C7 But lets talk about it (resume original tempo) F Wouldn't it be nice Good night, baby Sleep tight, baby... [fade]
Strumming
The strumming pattern for “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is fairly simple and consistent throughout the song. You can use a down-up-down-up-down-up-down-up (DUDUDUDU) pattern for each chord, with some variations depending on the rhythm and accent of the song. You can also add some palm muting or percussive strums to create some dynamics and groove.
Here is an example of how to strum the intro of the song:
![strumming example]
Chord Progressions
The chord progressions for “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” are based on the standard pop song structure of verse, chorus, bridge, and outro. The song also has an instrumental section that repeats the chorus progression with some variations. Here are the chord progressions for each section of the song:
Intro
The intro of the song consists of four bars of A major, followed by four bars of D major. You can play these chords with the DUDUDUDU strumming pattern as shown above.
Verse
The verse of the song follows a I-V-vi-IV (A-E-F#m-D) progression for eight bars, then switches to a vi-IV-I-V (F#m-D-A-E) progression for another eight bars. You can play these chords with the same strumming pattern as the intro, or add some variations as you like.
Chorus
The chorus of the song follows a vi-V-IV-I (F#m-E-D-A) progression for four bars, then switches to a iii-vi-IV-I (C#m-F#m-D-A) progression for another four bars. You can play these chords with the same strumming pattern as the verse, or add some variations as you like.
Bridge
The bridge of the song follows a IV-V-vi (D-E-F#m) progression for four bars, then switches to a ii-V-I (Bm-E-A) progression for another four bars. You can play these chords with the same strumming pattern as the chorus, or add some variations as you like.
Instrumental
The instrumental section of the song repeats the chorus progression with some variations. The first four bars are played as F#m-E-D-A, then the next four bars are played as C#m-F#m-G-A. The next four bars are played as F#m-E-D-A again, then the last four bars are played as C#m-F#m-G-Em-Dm-A. You can play these chords with the same strumming pattern as the bridge, or add some variations as you like.
Outro
The outro of the song repeats the intro progression of A-D for eight bars, then ends on a single A chord. You can play these chords with the same strumming pattern as the instrumental section, or add some variations as you like.
Conclusion
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is a beautiful and timeless song that showcases the musical genius of The Beach Boys. Learning how to play this song on guitar can be a fun and rewarding experience for any guitarist. By following the chords, strumming patterns, and chord progressions we have shown you in this article, you can play along with the original recording or create your own version of the song. We hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new. Happy playing!
