Here are the unplugged chords that I use to play John Lennon's 1971 hit song Imagine. This song was written and recorded on piano. Keep this in mind when playing it on your guitar. The chords are shown in the original key of C. The A section is built around a "I-IV" basic progression with an embellished "I" chord in the middle. Check out the "4-3-2-1" diatonic descending bass line figure in bars 1 and 2 of the B section. You can also create an ascending bass line by playing the E bass note on the Cma7 chord ("C-Cmaj7/E-F"). You can mix it up if you like.
The main piano riff is shown below.
C Cmaj7 F
e--------------|--------------------|
B--1--1--1--0--|--1--1--1--------0--|
G--0--0--0--0--|--2--2--2--2--3-----|
D--2--2--2--2--|--3--3--3-----------|
A--3--3--3--3--|--3--3--3-----------|
E--3--3--3--3--|--1--1--1-----------|
The chord fingerings I use (in a Standard tuning) are as follows: C = 332010; Cmaj7 = 332000; F = 133211; Am/E = 002210; Dm7 = xx0122; F/C = x33211; G = 3x0003; C/G = 3x2010; G7 = 353433; E = 0220100; and E7 = 020100.
A section
| C / / Cmaj7 | F / / / | C / / Cmaj7 | F / / / |
| C / / Cmaj7 | F / / / | C / / Cmaj7 | F / / / |
B section
| F / Am/E / | Dm7 / F/C / | G / C/G / | G7 / / / |
C section
| F / G / | C Cmaj7 E E7 | F / G / | C Cmaj7 E E7 |
| F / G / | C Cmaj7 E E7 | F / G / | C / / / |
