No matter when you start playing at some point you will want to play a solo. The trick is to pick a song that you know with a simple solo section. The Nowhere Man solo is perfect for learning how to play a solo as it is centered around the song’s chords.
Even better, Ultimate Guitar has a copy of the lyrics, chords, and tab (Intro and solo) that will help you to put together this song. Keep in mind that this solo doesn’t play the melody line, so it’s a song that you will sing along to.
3 Steps to Learning Nowhere Man
If you have never played before a little advice. Break the song up into portions and learn each portion separately before putting them together. This way you will finish with a complete song to perform. Not just half a song that you always play.
The 3 steps are:
1. Learn the Chords
2. Learn the Lead – Tab
3. Learn the lyrics
You can change this order around to suit you. I in fact, I’ve been playing and performing for over 40 years. What I do is put the original song on my iPod in the car to learn the lyrics. Meanwhile, I learn to play all the chords for the whole song and start by humming along and then singing the words. And every day I learn the solo from the tabs and play it to get it smooth under my fingers.
By adding bits in one at a time it means that each part is smooth and professional and you’ll be pleased with the final rendition. Keep in mind that the Tabs below are just a guide and don’t worry if you add an odd extra note if it sounds right to you then put it in.
Playing Tabs – (Tablature)
If you don’t want to read music or know what notes you are playing tabs are so simple to read. The 0 to 14 number tells you which fret you are playing on and the number on the string shows which string you should be playing.
So looking at the first tab below. You will only be playing on the 1st and 2nd fret. The 0 on the B string means it is open but you will pick that string, then you will play the G string but on the second fret (or 3 strings up from the bottom but on the 2nd fret). Then the G string but on the 1st fret. The D string on the 2nd fret and last the A string on the 2nd fret.
You can play all these notes by creating an E chord and just moving one finger.
The Chords For Nowhere Man
If you are only just beginning to play and master barre chords don’t be scared by these chords. Just put the name in Google and look at all the shape options to play that chord and find one that works for you. Most chords can be played in several ways on the guitar and in several places. You can then decide if you will strum or pick each chord, it’s all up to you.
Here are some chords you should also know.
The Chord, Lyric and Tab Chart
NOWHERE MAN
He’s a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
F#m Am E
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
e|——————-|
B|–0—————|
G|——2-1——–|
D|———-2——-|
A|————2—–|
E|——————-|
Here is a link to a video I did playing this intro tab. It’s not perfect but we all start here.
[Verse 2]
E B
Doesn’t have a point of view
A E
Knows not where he’s going to
F#m Am E
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?
E E
e|-0———————-0——-|
B|-0———————0——-|
G|-1—-2—-1———1——-|
D|-2————–2—–2——-|
A|-2———————2——-|
E|-0———————0——-|
[Chorus 1]
G#m A
Nowhere Man, please listen
G#m A
You don’t know what you’re missing
G#m A B7
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command
[Solo]
E B A E F#m Am (Natural Harmonic)
e|—–0——–0–2——————————————————————–|
B|——–0–4———–2–2———-0—————1——————————|
G|–1——–4———–2—–2–1–2—–2—2——-2—2———————–|
D|–2——–4———–2——–2——–4——4—-2—————————–|
A|–2—————————–2——–4——————3–3–2—————–|
E|—————————————————————————————-|
Here is a link to a video showing me playing the solo. It’s not perfect but it shows where to put your fingers.
[Verse 3]
E B
He’s as blind as he can be
A E
Just sees what he wants to see
F#m Am E
Nowhere Man can you see me at all?
E E
e|-0———————0—-|
B|-0———————0—-|
G|-1—-2—-1———1—-|
D|-2————–2—–2—-|
A|-2———————2—-|
E|-0———————0—-|
[Chorus 2]
G#m A
Nowhere Man, don’t worry
G#m A
Take your time, don’t hurry
G#m A B7
Leave it all till somebody else lends you a hand
[Verse 4]
E B
Doesn’t have a point of view
A E
Knows not where he’s going to
F#m Am E
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?
E E
e|-0———————0—-|
B|-0———————0—-|
G|-1—-2—-1———1—-|
D|-2————–2—–2—-|
A|-2———————2—-|
E|-0———————0—-|
[Chorus 3]
G#m A
Nowhere Man, please listen
G#m A
You don’t know what you’re missing
G#m A B7
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command
[Verse 5]
E B
He’s a real nowhere man
A E
Sitting in his nowhere land
F#m Am E
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
e|—————————————-|
B|—0———————————–|
G|————2—-1——————–|
D|———————-2—-4———-|
A|—————————————-|
E|—————————————-|
F#m Am E
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
e|—————————————-|
B|—0———————————–|
G|————2—-1——————–|
D|———————-2—-4———-|
A|—————————————-|
E|—————————————-|
F#m Am E
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
e|—————————————-|
B|—0———————————–|
G|————2—-1——————–|
D|———————-2—————-|
A|—————————2———–|
E|—————————————-|
What Makes a Solo
Just stringing a few notes together doesn’t make a good solo. Putting emotion into the notes you play can make it memorable (an earworm if you like.) Just as in the way we speak when chatting to a friend, we break down our sentences into phrases and in those phrases we put emphasis on some of the words (notes.)
You might have a break before a note, or bend it up, or even slide up the neck to that note to make it stand out. This all adds color to the musical phrase. Here is a link to the original rendition of Nowhere Man by the Beatles, take the time to really listen to each portion of the song and analyze what they did to make it special.
Why Not a Whole YouTube?
That’s a good question and there is a very good reason that I didn’t do a teaching video on this solo. It’s distracting! When I want to learn something new I want clear steps and resources that will get me playing straight away. I’ve put all the information that you will need to sit and learn this song in one place.
You don’t want to see me playing this perfectly, that’s annoying. You need to read the tab, try to play each note, and watch the extremely short video of me playing it, if necessary (with no talking) and listen and play along to the original.
Will Playing Along Help Me?
Yes, it will help you enormously in so many ways. The Beatles (Nowhere Man) were amazing musicians and you get to learn from their example. Their timing and rhythm are excellent, and their delivery of the vocal parts is precise and well thought out. They show you where to breathe. How to structure the song and all for free.
Just imagine if you were able to play along live with these guys. But this is a better solution because you can slow the song down or go over the same part again and again. In a band you don’t have that luxury, so enjoy and learn.
I’ve even had students say to me, “But won’t I end up sounding just like them?” You wish! No really. No matter how well you play this song you will always sound like you but just have a more professional sound. Learning from the best musicians can only be a good thing.
Conclusion
If you strive for perfection you will attain a standard that everyone will envy and want to emulate. My advice is to learn all the tricks from the original players and then you can polish and add your own personal unique style. Once you have learned the song think about how you want to start the beginning and how you want to end the song.
Keep polishing those lead parts until they slide off your fingers without thought and keep building your skills and adding new songs.
Enjoy your playing.
Warm Regards,
Lily Munday