{"id":494923,"date":"2026-06-25T13:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T13:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/494923\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T13:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T13:47:12","slug":"beginners-start-with-in-my-life-while-advanced-players-choose-hey-jude-new-data-reveals-which-beatles-songs-musicians-want-to-learn-the-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/494923\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBeginners start with In My Life, while advanced players choose Hey Jude\u201d: New data reveals which Beatles songs musicians want to learn the most"},"content":{"rendered":"

As obsessive Beatle-nerds, the idea of an official \u2018Global Beatles<\/a> Day\u2019 leaves us a little bemused. Surely every day is a Beatle-day? It is in our gaff at least. <\/p>\n

But for the wider world, reminding everyday folk of the importance of what John, Paul, George and Ringo did for music, and for popular culture more broadly, gets our enthusiastic thumbs-up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Not that musicians need to be reminded of course, with many novice guitar players immediately reaching for the Fab Four\u2019s songbook when first getting to grips with their instrument. But, just what are the songs that people try and tackle first?<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the question posed by Muse Group<\/a> – the company behind Ultimate Guitar<\/a> (aka the world\u2019s largest guitar tab platform and app<\/a>) when analysing their own user data. The results are actually quite surprising.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, a smile-inducing finding reveals that in the UK and the US, The Beatles are still the biggest act in terms of overall tab views. With 40 million on Ultimate Guitar – ahead of every other artist on the platform. That\u2019s pretty gear, we’re sure the lads would agree.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

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\"Beatles\"\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Mark Hayward Archive\/Redferns\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In terms of songs then, and it\u2019s the towering Let It Be that is king – with 4 million views in the last 12 months. That\u2019s followed by Paul\u2019s intricate acoustic masterwork Blackbird, shoulder-to-shoulder with that anthem-of-anthems Hey Jude, both of which have 3.2 million views.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 13 of the 19 countries analysed, The Beatles rank as the most-viewed artist on the platform,\u201d Muse Group say. \u201cThe pattern is consistent across North America, Western Europe, Latin America, and Japan. In the US, they drew 8.7 million views, nearly 60% more than second-place Zach Bryan; in the UK they led with 3.1 million, well ahead of Oasis<\/a>; in Germany and Australia they hit the 1 million mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here. <\/p>\n

When drilled down to the differing ability levels of players, the lists change quite a bit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s John Lennon<\/a>\u2019s 1965 gem In My Life that is the runaway favourite for beginners, with its 1.1 million views outpacing any other song in that entry-level tier by double. It\u2019s followed by Let It Be (489k) and Here Comes the Sun (441k – and the band\u2019s biggest song across streaming platforms, we might add).<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the rest of the beginner top ten includes songs that don\u2019t appear at all in the advanced chart, such as I Want to Hold Your Hand, Love Me Do, Yellow Submarine, Get Back, and All You Need Is Love.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

What about the pros then? They can\u2019t get enough of Hey Jude it seems, with 1.5 million views. That\u2019s followed up by Blackbird (1 million) and Something (810k). More complexity is evident in the rest of the top ten, which includes Sgt Pepper\u2019s closing epic A Day in the Life, Penny Lane, Michelle, and Till There Was You.<\/p>\n

The Beatles – The Beatles – Hey Jude (Official Music Video) [Remastered 2015] – YouTube
\n\"The<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

The only song that appears on both lists is Blackbird<\/a>, a staple acoustic guitar exercise that is very hard to get exactly right.<\/p>\n

When the Muse Group analysed Ultimate Guitar\u2019s Practice Mode<\/a> (an in-app feature), Blackbird was also king. And by quite some distance. Its 1.16 million practice sessions dwarfed the second entry on the list – Here Comes The Sun – which sits at 596,225.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the top five of practice mode songs:<\/p>\n

1. Blackbird \u2013 1,160,936 views
2. Here Comes The Sun \u2013 596,225 views
3. Let It Be \u2013 532,579 views
4. Hey Jude \u2013 471,503 views
5. Yesterday \u2013 447,930 views<\/p>\n

Despite its name, Ultimate Guitar also provides bass tabs, and ukulele tabs too, which make for interesting comparisons. Let it Be sits pretty at the top of the guitarist\u2019s list (3.9 million), while Come Together tops the bassist\u2019s choices (88k), and on uke, it\u2019s Here Comes the Sun (116k).<\/p>\n

There were some interesting new data trends when compared to last year\u2019s data, Blackbird climbed 26% YoY, while Come Together dropped out of the guitarist\u2019s top ten entirely. Let it Be on ukulele surged 65% YoY, with Blackbird and Something being more sought-after too (jumping up by 48 and 38% respectively.)<\/p>\n

\u201cBass players are the most consistent audience,\u201d Muse Group state. \u201cCome Together leads again [when compared with last year\u2019s stats], and most of the top ten is the same as last year. The one new entry is I Want You (She’s So Heavy) (10th place): nearly eight minutes long and built on a hypnotic, repetitive groove. Six of the ten bass songs appear in neither the guitar nor ukulele charts, confirming that bass players navigate a different corner of the Beatles catalog.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Beatles\"\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Jeff Hochberg\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the instrument tailored top fives:<\/p>\n

Guitar: <\/p>\n

1. Let It Be \u2013 3,934,667 views
2. Blackbird \u2013 3,118,282 views
3. Yesterday \u2013 3,117,334 views
4. Hey Jude \u2013 3,108,255 views
5. Here Comes The Sun \u2013 1,907,073 views<\/p>\n

Bass:<\/p>\n

1. Come Together \u2013 88,055 views
2. Let It Be \u2013 25,592 views
3. Something \u2013 24,022 views
4. All My Loving \u2013 19,997 views
5. Day Tripper \u2013 17,379 views<\/p>\n

Ukulele:<\/p>\n

1. Here Comes The Sun \u2013 116,411 views
2. Let It Be \u2013 97,618 views
3. Blackbird \u2013 73,775 views
4. Hey Jude \u2013 72,408 views
5. Something \u2013 70,288 views<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Beatles’ catalog spans generations, skill levels, and instruments,\u201d Muse Group say. \u201cWhatever the entry point, the destination is the same: The Beatles remain the most-learned artist on Ultimate Guitar, year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As obsessive Beatle-nerds, the idea of an official \u2018Global Beatles Day\u2019 leaves us a little bemused. Surely every…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-494923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}