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Changing the Key to "Blue Christmas"

Lesson #465 • Dec 22, 2022

Hey there, friends! Today we’re looking at Blue Christmas, the classic holiday tune made famous by Elvis Presley. While Elvis plays this in the key of E major (mostly using E, A, and B7) — I want to show you the process of transcribing it to the Key of C. This allows me to play the song using entirely different chords — which is what I want, as my goal is to play along with a neighbor who learned it on the ukulele in the Key of C.

This process requires a few bits of music theory knowledge: the chords in each key, how chord progressions work, and we’ll even need to navigate around a tricky diminished chord. But fear not, I’ll walk you through everything!

  • 0:00 Summary
  • 1:58 Song Overview (Key of E)
  • 4:03 Chords in Each Key
  • 8:16 Determining the Chord Progression
  • 18:20 Song Overview (Key of C)
  • 33:50 Playthrough (Key of C)
  • 35:09 Bonus: Vocal Melody Tab

Instructional PDF 2 pages

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It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

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Look for a Full Lesson Teaching Blue Christmas?

You’re in luck – I made one in December 2023! Again, this is a Key of C version similar to what I show in the video above. A licensed song sheet is also available. View more info here, and watch the video below:

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