Learn Bohemian Rhapsody on Acoustic Guitar

In this lesson, we’ll learn an acoustic guitar arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody, which I really think is one of the greatest songs of all time. It’s an absolute masterpiece, with incredible creativity and harmony.

When I was planning this lesson, I didn’t want to try to cover the whole song in one go. There are already lots of lessons out there doing that, and it’s a very big job. What I decided to focus on instead was arranging the piano part for acoustic guitar, picking out the most important elements, and making them playable without overcomplicating things.

Most of the time, when people want to play this song—at a singalong, a party, or just for themselves—it’s really the opening sections that everyone is waiting for. The operatic middle section would definitely be fun to tackle, especially with a few musician friends, but it would be hard to do well... so for this lesson, the focus is on the intro and early verses. We’ll be covering the solo and the rest of the song in a later lesson; you can make that happen faster by leaving a comment/request in the Discussion tab! :)

Guitar Capo

You’ll want to play this with a capo at the 3rd fret. I did experiment with versions without a capo, but it’s significantly easier this way. Most of the time, I’ll be talking about frets relative to the capo, but occasionally I’ll also mention the actual fret number if I think it makes things clearer. The TAB on screen is always shown relative to the capo, so keep that in mind as you’re following along! ;)

Arrangement approach

We’ll go through the song section by section, sometimes bar by bar, where it makes sense. In a few places, I’ve worked out little piano-style licks to help capture the feel of the original part, but I’ll also point out where those bits are optional. If something feels too complicated, you can leave it out and still have the song work musically. The idea here isn’t to copy the piano note-for-note, but to suggest it. Keeping the harmony, bass movement, and overall feel while making it playable on an acoustic guitar.

Chords and Harmony

Throughout the lesson, we use a mix of:

Standard open chords
Extended chords like minor 7s
Diminished shapes and slash chords to reflect the original harmony

Sometimes, I’ll show a slightly unusual voicing or fingering to match the piano part better, but if a simpler option works for you, that’s absolutely fine. The goal is to keep the flow of the song and support the vocal.

Fingerpicking and Timing

Much of this arrangement relies on fingerpicking, with patterns that repeat across sections. That makes things easier to remember once you’ve got the core ideas under your fingers.

This is not about speed. The focus is on:

Even timing
Controlled bass notes
Keeping the inner voices clear
Making the part feel solid and musical for singing

Fingering choices

Some of the shapes are a bit awkward—that’s just the nature of adapting a piano part to guitar. I’ll show different fingering options in places, and it’s really about finding what works best for your hands. Finger length, flexibility, and comfort all matter here, and there isn’t always one single “correct” solution.

How the Lesson Fits Together

Once you’ve learned the main ideas in the opening sections, you’ll notice that:

Later verses reuse the same patterns
Harmonic ideas repeat
The arrangement becomes much easier to follow and memorize

This lesson lays the foundation for the song’s accompaniment. It’s not the easiest arrangement in the world, but it’s very playable, very musical, and a really nice way to explore how piano-based songs can work on acoustic guitar.

▶️ Hope you enjoy this lesson! If you’re up for more, browse hundreds of other song lessons here. :)