Skip to main content

How to Play Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart) on Guitar

To learn how to play "Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart)" by Wham! on guitar, you need to understand how to play four chords - D major, B minor, E minor and A major.

This is a song that can be played by guitarists of all skill levels. The intro (which also doubles as the chorus) and verse are covered in this tutorial.


"Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart)" was originally released by Epic Records in 1984 by British pop duo Wham! It was produced by one half of the duo, George Michael, who also wrote the music and lyrics.

It was released on a double A-side with the song "Everything She Wants." It debuted in the UK at number two when it was released on December 15, and spent 13 weeks on the chart. According to LastChristmas.com, the song has been covered by over 100 individual artists and bands since its release. The list includes Coldplay, Hilary Duff, Jimmy Eat World, Taylor Swift and Travis.

James Montgomery of VH1.com described the song as "fairly unremarkable: a Christmas song that's only superficially about Christmas, containing little more than four-plus minutes of gauzy synth lines, breezy vocals and even more breezy lyrics about holiday heartache."




Guitarist Julie Meyers teaches viewers how to play Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart) on guitar. Julie demonstrates the technique and chords required for the song, which was originally a smash hit for George Michael and Wham. This is part of a wider series of videos about how to play Christmas songs on the guitar.


Step 1: Introduction to How to Play Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart)

Open with a D major by moving your first finger to the second fret of the G, your second finger onto the second fret of the high E, and your third finger to the third fret of the B string.

Follow with a B minor by barring the second fret to the A string, placing your second finger on the third fret of the B, and your third and fourth fingers on the fourth fret of the D and G strings, respectively.

Next is E minor (on the second fret of the A and D strings) and A minor (also on the second fret, keeping the A open and playing the notes D, G and B). Play the sequence with a downstrum.

Step 2: Verse of How to Play Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart)

The same four chords are strummed in the same order to play the verse, with the exception of A minor becoming an A major.

This is just one semi-tone difference, achieved by playing the G note one string down and one fret back. Continue to play the sequence with a downstrum.

Step 3: Chorus of How to Play Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart)

"Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart)" begins with the chorus, so the chorus sequence is identical to the introduction.

It should open with a D major, followed by B minor, E minor and an A minor, all played with a downstrum. The chorus is repeated, so play this sequence twice.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Your First Scale / The Pentatonic Scale

The first scale most guitarists learn is the minor pentatonic scale. Pentatonic may sound scary but it really isn't, it simply means 5 notes. So a pentatonic scale is just a 5 note scale. The pentatonic scale is extremely useful for guitarists. This is for a few good reasons. - Music that is commonly played on the guitar (rock, blues, country, pop, ect...) use the pentatonic scale in its melodies and improvisation. - The pentatonic scale is easily playable on the guitar with pentatonic 'boxes'. - The licks and riffs from the pentatonic scale sound amazing. With that said, lets get into the minor pentatonic scale. The following is a tab file and a scale diagram of the minor pentatonic scale in the Key of A. Didn't I say a pentatonic scale was only 5 notes. The above tab file and scale diagram feature alot more then 5 notes. Take a look at the red dots on the scale diagram, for example the 5th fret on the Low E string and High E string and the 7th fret on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How To Build A Barre Chord

It should be clear by now that the barre effectively replaces the use of the nut on the guitar. If not, then go back and read Part One . Once understanding the barre replaces the use of the nut, it should make sense that you could use the same basic chords in open position and apply them after the barre. Use the exact same chord shape, just replace the nut with the barre using your first finger and refinger the chord as necessary. While this method will work with all open position chords, there are four particular chord shapes, two major shapes and two minor shapes, that are essential for all guitarists. The two basic open position chords that we will be using to build our major barre chords are the E major and the A major chord forms. Let's start with the E major chord. This chord should already be familiar. If not then read up on the basic chords in open position . The two diagrams to the right is an E major chord in open position followed by an F# major barre chord. T...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tuning The Rest Of The Guitar

The same method is used to tune the next two strings, the D string and the G string. Fret the 5th fret on the A string and that gives the note D, you can now tune your D string in comparison to the 5th fret of the A string. Once the D string is tuned, do the same for the G string. Fret the 5th fret on the D string and that gives the Note G and you can now tune the G string. The B string is tuned with the same method but instead of fretting the 5th fret of the G string, you fret the 4th and tune in comparison to the 4th fret, not the 5th. You should now just have the High E string to tune. In this case, we go back to the original method of fretting in comparison to the 5th fret of the previous string. The following diagram will help illustrate the entire tuning process. You should now be able to tune your guitar. It may take a while for a beginner but you should get it. If your having trouble, read through the material again. The above diagram should illustrate the method clea...
Post a Comment
Read more