Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas - Guitar Lesson

Elvis' Christmas Album

1957 2:10

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About Blue Christmas

Few holiday songs sit as comfortably under the fingers as "Blue Christmas," yet getting it to feel right takes more care than it first appears. The track moves at a steady 120 BPM in G major, which keeps the chord shapes familiar, but the real work is in the feel: the rhythm guitar needs to stay loose and behind the beat rather than clipped and mechanical. The signature tone is warm and round, so favour your neck pickup, ease off the tone knob slightly, and let the notes breathe. Fingerpicked or hybrid-picked arpeggios through the chord changes give the song far more character than straight strumming. The turnaround at the end of each verse is the trickiest moment rhythmically, and it is worth isolating that passage with the Practice Toolbar, looping it slowed down until the timing feels natural rather than rushed. Elvis Presley recorded this in E Standard tuning, so no retuning is needed, and the open G position shapes sit exactly where you expect them in this Pop Rock classic.

• The song is in G major in E Standard tuning, so open-position chord shapes work throughout with no capo or retuning required.
• A warm neck-pickup tone with the tone rolled back slightly gets you close to the original guitar sound on the recording.
• The verse turnaround is the most rhythmically tricky section, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down before playing at full tempo.