Learn to play "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley on the guitar

In this lesson, we'll learn how to play Love Me Tender on the guitar. This beautiful song by the legend, the king, Elvis Presley, has a straightforward strumming pattern that's simple yet effective. We are in two-four time, which means there are two beats in the bar, and the first beat is the bass note of each chord, followed by a strum on beat two.

Understanding the Chords

We start off with a regular D chord. Each time I mention a particular chord, remember it's just two beats, a bass note, and then a chord. We have two bars for the introduction, and then we start the verse.

We move from D to D with an A bass for the verse. We keep the same chord but pick the A string, the second thickest string. Then we change to an E7. You can play like a regular E and add your little finger. Both versions sound nice for this song, so it's up to you which one you want to play. Following this progression, we have E7 with a B bass and then transition to A7.

This pattern is repeated twice for the verse, making it easy to remember and practice.

The Chorus

We start the chorus with a D, then move to F#7 over C#. This might sound complicated, but if you've practiced some barre chords, you shouldn't struggle with this one. We then transition to a standard B minor chord, a D7 over A, and a G chord. The transition to G minor six will probably be the most challenging chord in this tune, but you'll get the hang of it with practice.

The second half of the chorus moves from D to B7, to E7, to A7, and finally back to D with an A bass. Remember, when you go to the A bass, just move your first finger up a little to mute the D string. This makes it sound clearer with the bass note movement.

Final Thoughts

Love Me Tender is an absolutely beautiful song. I'm sure you'll agree. It's not without its challenges, but this one will definitely get you some extra tokens if you learn it and play it for your significant other. You know that this one will go down a proper treat, I can tell you. Have fun playing it and enjoy the romance that it brings. I'm sure you'll master it in no time, and I'm excited to hear your progress.

Remember, learning to play a song on the guitar is a journey. It's about persistence, practice, and, most importantly, having fun. This song might pose some challenges, but overcoming them will make your learning experience all the more rewarding. So, pick up your guitar, tune it up, watch the video, and let's make some beautiful music together.

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