Log In My Account Join Upgrade Premium VIP Beta Tester Free Trial
Menu Search Join VIP Beta Tester Premium
 

Home ❯ Songs ❯ Pearl Jam ❯

← Prev Song Next Song →

Last Kiss

by Pearl Jam • Lesson #87 • Jul 27, 2017

Video lesson

Print-Friendly Song Sheet 3 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.

Buy at Musicnotes.com

Save 50% on this song sheet by applying the September 2023 code at Musicnotes checkout: WRKGBMXP7Y (click to copy). Thanks for being a Premium supporter!

Song Notes Premium includes a 50% discount code you can use when buying any of my licensed song sheets. For the current month's code, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’s notes

This lesson shows you an easy way to play “Last Kiss” as covered by Pearl Jam . I’ll show you the chords needed, talk about transitioning between chords easily, and tackle the strumming pattern. This is a fun song to learn, as it only uses 4 chords repeating for the entire song: G-Em-C-D. Good luck!

Chords needed

The entire song uses these four chords, in this order, over and over. Very straight forward. For the G, you can play the 3rd fret on the B string if you want - that’s a correct way to play G also.

E ––––3–––––0–––––0–––––2–––––
B ––––0–––––0–––––1–––––3–––––
G ––––0–––––0–––––0–––––2–––––
D ––––0–––––2–––––2–––––0–––––
A ––––2–––––2–––––3–––––––––––
E ––––3–––––0–––––––––––––––––
      G     Em    C     D

As I note in my video lesson, if you’re having trouble with the chord transitions, realize that for some of the transitions you’re keeping fingers on the same note. This makes changing much easier, since it is one less finger to move. For example:

E ––––3–––––0––––
B ––––0–––––0––––
G ––––0–––––0––––
D ––––0–––––2––––
A ––––2–––––2––––   <-- index finger plays 2nd fret for both chords
E ––––3–––––0––––
      G     Em

And also for the Em to the C:

E ––––0–––––0––––
B ––––0–––––1––––
G ––––0–––––0––––
D ––––2–––––2––––   <-- middle finger plays the 2nd fret for both chords
A ––––2–––––3––––
E ––––0––––––––––
      Em    C

And finally, for the D to G turnaround:

E ––––2––––––3––––
B ––––3––––––3––––  <-- ring finger plays the 3rd fret for both chords
G ––––2––––––0––––
D ––––0––––––0––––
A –––––––––––2––––
E –––––––––––3––––
      D      G

In general, keep an eye out for this sort of “pivot note” transition in any song you’re learning. It can make many chord transitions much easier, and faster, to pull off while keeping in step with the song’s rhythm.

Chord progression and timing

Quite simply, you’ll be doing one measure (four counts) of each chord, in sequence. That is:

1  2  3  4  1  2  3  4  1  2  3  4  1  2  3  4  
G  .  .  .  Em .  .  .  C  .  .  .  D  .  .  .

I recommend counting out loud, if you can, to master the timing (if it’s giving you trouble).

Strumming pattern

I recommend this strumming pattern for the whole song:

D = down strum
U = up strum

1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +  
D     D  U     U  D  U

Repeat this, playing the pattern once per each chord. If it’s giving you trouble, simplify it and start with something you can do without much challenge. Such as

1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +  
D     D     D     D

From there, add an up-strum on the final “4 +” count:

1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +  
D     D     D     D  U

Then, once you have that, don’t strum on the “3” count:

1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +  
D     D           D  U

And finally, one you have mastered that, add up strums on the “2 +” and “3 +” counts.

1  +  2  +  3  +  4  +  
D     D  U     U  D  U

The key is to keep your strumming hand (arm) moving up and down continuously, but only bringing the pick down on the strings when the strumming pattern demands it.

Browse Related Lessons

Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:

About Song Notes

Hey there! My name is David Potsiadlo, and I'm the creator of the 400+ weekly lessons here at Song Notes, going back to 2013. Here’s my guitar story »

Get Free Lessons Each Week!

Join the 20,000+ readers who get my new lessons dropped in their inbox each week. I teach a fun mix of songs, weekly riffs, practice ideas, and more!

Enjoy my lessons? Buy me a beer!

If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!

Recent Lessons

Browse All Recent Lessons →

Browse All My Lessons

By lesson type

By technique

By musical genre

By decade

By musical key

By popular artist

← back to homepage