"Twist and Shout" – The Beatles [Easy Guitar Chords]

The Beatles

Key D Major

Verse D · G · A

Pickups A7

Difficulty Beginner

Capo None

“Twist and Shout” is one of the most fun three-chord songs you can learn on guitar. The Beatles recorded it in 1963 in the key of D, and the entire song cycles through just three open chords — D, G, and A — over and over again. A7 shows up as a pickup chord between phrases (it’s just A with one finger lifted off), and that’s the whole vocabulary you need.

This is the version I teach in my 30 Day Guitar Chord Fluency course, so the chord changes here line up exactly with the lessons. It’s a perfect early win — high energy, instantly recognizable, and built on the basic open chords every guitarist needs in their vocabulary. Let’s dive in!

The Chords You’ll Need

For the verse

For Pickups & the Bridge

Chord Chart

Intro

      D       G      A
e|------------------------------------------|
B|------------------------------------------|
G|------------------------------------------|
D|---------------7--------------------------|
A|--------4--5---5---2--2---4---4--4--4--4--|
E|--5--7-------------3--3---5---5--5--5--5--|

Verse 1

                  D           G          A
Well shake it up baby now, (shake it up baby)
A7            D       G         A
Twist and shout. (Twist and shout)
                  A7                  D          G       A
Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby now, (come on baby)
                        D     G          A
Come on and work it on out. (Work it on out, ooh!)

Verse 2

                 D     G          A
Well work it on out, (work it on out)
         A7            D     G       A
You know you look so good. (Look so good)
         A7          D           G      A
You know you got me goin' now, (Got me goin')
                       D             G        A
Just like I knew you would. (Like I knew you would, ooh!)

Verse 3

                  D           G          A
Well shake it up baby now, (shake it up baby)
A7          D       G         A
Twist and shout. (Twist and shout)
                  A7                 D          G       A
Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby now, (come on baby)
                        D     G          A
Come on and work it on out. (Work it on out, ooh!)

Verse 4

                              D       G           A
You know you twist it little girl, (twist little girl)
             A7          D       G       A
You know you twist so fine. (Twist so fine)
            A7               D            G             A
Come on and twist a little closer now, (twist a little closer)
                             D             G           A
And let me know that you're mine. (Let me know you're mine, ooh!)

Solo Chords

D  G A  D  G A  D  G A   D  G A

Solo Tab

e|---------------------------------|
B|-----------3---2-------2---------|
G|---------4-4---2-------2-4---2---| x4
D|-4-----4-5---------------5---4---|
A|-5-----5-------------------------|
E|---------------------------------|

Bridge

A        A7
Ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh  yeah!!

Verse 5

 D           G          A
Baby now, (shake it up baby)
A7          D       G         A
Twist and shout. (Twist and shout)
                  A7                 D          G       A
Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby now, (come on baby)
                        D     G          A
Come on and work it on out. (Work it on out, ooh!)

Verse 6

                            D       G             A
You know you twist it little girl, (twist little girl)
            A7         D       G       A
You know you twist so fine. (Twist so fine)
            A7               D            G            A
Come on and twist a little closer now, (twist little closer)
                             D             G           A
And let me know that you're mine. (Let me know you're mine ooh!)

Verse 7 (outro)

                                 D          G           A
Well shake it shake it shake it baby now. (shake it up baby)
              A7                 D          G           A
Well shake it shake it shake it baby now. (shake it up baby)
              A7                 D          G           A
Well shake it shake it shake it baby now. (shake it up baby)
A        A7            A  Bb  B  C  C#  D   D9
Ahh ahh ahh  ahh

A note on the A7 chord A7 is just an A chord with one finger lifted — specifically, lift your finger off the G string and let it ring open. Throughout this song, A7 acts as a pickup chord that leads back into the D, giving each phrase a little forward push. We cover A7 in Module 3 of the course alongside the other dominant 7th chords. If you’re not there yet, just play A in place of A7 — the song still works beautifully.

About the intro & solo tabs The intro lick and the solo tab are optional flourishes — pure decoration. You can play this entire song just by strumming the chords, and it’ll sound great. Come back to those riffs once the chord changes feel automatic!

Practice Tips

Loop the D-to-G-to-A change on its own until it feels automatic. Almost the entire song lives inside that one progression, so getting it smooth is 90% of the work.
Keep your strumming hand moving steadily, even when you’re switching chords. The driving rhythm is what gives this song its energy — a consistent down-up motion will carry you through any chord changes that feel rough.
Practice the A-to-A7 move on its own. Just lift your finger off the G string (string 3) and put it back. That tiny motion is one of the easiest chord transitions on the guitar — and it’s used dozens of times in this song.
Don’t worry about playing every strum perfectly cleanly at first. “Twist and Shout” is a raw, high-energy rock and roll song — a little grit in the strumming actually suits it.