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Nazareth - Love Hurts - Guitar Lesson

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Key G major
Nazareth - Love Hurts guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

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Mid7
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Master7
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Hair Of The Dog album cover
Hair Of The Dog
1975 3:53
Listen on Spotify
Nazareth Hard Rock 1975 G major
Capo Advisor 0 G major · Original key

About Love Hurts

At 60 BPM in G major, this Nazareth ballad moves slowly enough that every note choice matters, and that is exactly what makes it tricky. The chord work is deceptively simple on the surface, but keeping a clean, even tone at this tempo in E Standard tuning demands real control of your fretting hand. The vocal melody is so strong that your guitar parts need to sit underneath it with restraint rather than compete, so right-hand dynamics are something to think carefully about. The slow pace also means any hesitation in chord transitions is fully exposed, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop the verse and chorus changes slowed down until the movement between chords feels completely automatic. Within the broader world of Hard Rock, this track is a good reminder that the genre has a softer, more considered side that rewards players who can dial back aggression and focus on feel and tone instead.

  • Playing at 60 BPM in G major, clean chord transitions are fully exposed, so smooth fretting-hand movement between shapes is the main technical challenge.
  • E Standard tuning keeps the voicings familiar, but the slow tempo demands careful right-hand dynamic control to avoid a flat, lifeless tone.
  • The song rewards practising chord changes in isolation: loop individual transitions using the Practice Toolbar at reduced speed to build consistency.

How to Play Love Hurts

Tuning: E Standard · Key: G major · Tempo: 60 BPM

Loop each section and focus on clean, even timing rather than speed, with the metronome at 60 BPM.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Manny Charlton used Stratocasters for cleaner passages and studio recordings, leveraging their single-coil brightness to add tonal variety beyond the Les Paul's thick sustain. Billy Rankin later adopted Strats as his primary guitar, bringing a lighter, more articulate texture to Nazareth's heavier sound.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Charlton's main instrument throughout Nazareth's classic era, the Les Paul's thick mahogany body and stock PAF humbuckers delivered the dense, warm sustain and full midrange that defined the band's riff-driven hard rock tone. Its set neck and weight enabled effortless sustain through cranked Marshall amplifiers.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While less documented than his Standards, Charlton occasionally used Les Paul Customs for their enhanced midrange presence and slightly hotter output, providing added punch for studio recordings and live performances demanding extra clarity through dense amplification.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

This amp was Charlton's primary weapon, delivering natural power-tube saturation and harmonic richness when driven hard without relying on pedal distortion. The JCM800's responsiveness to guitar volume knob dynamics allowed him to achieve everything from singing cleans to thick overdriven riffs.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Charlton used this wah pedal sparingly for lead accents and expressive solo passages, adding dramatic tonal movement to key moments without cluttering his minimalist signal chain of guitar straight into cranked Marshall.

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