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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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Follow along with the print-friendly PDF!

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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