Ho, ho, ho. 🎄

This not-so-easy lesson will teach us to play Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas on the guitar.

This classic has many incredible covers - Frank Sinatra, Sam Smith, Michal Bubblé, and Carrie Underwood are some examples! However, this tutorial will approach Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas with a jazzy arrangement. I think it sounds ace - and comfy. :)

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This version mainly uses basic jazz chords, but we'll add some fancy tricks too! Let's check out the intro section first.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Intro Section

The basic chords I'm using in the intro are GMaj7 (3X443X), Em7 (X79787), Am7 (57555X), and D7 (X5757X). Each chord lasts half a beat, as do all the chords unless I say otherwise. For the rhythm, see the section further down.

We can spice this up! On the GMaj7, pick strings 6, 4, 3, and 2 one by one. Then on the Em7, target the note on string 2 on beat 3, then string 1 on beat 4. That way, you play the melody notes.

You can also add melody notes over Am7. Play 1:7 (string 1, fret 7) with finger 4, and flick off to fret 5, which the barre covers. Then move to string 2 and play fret 8, then fret 7, both with finger 4. These melody notes follow the rhythm 1+2+.

On the D, play a D9 (X57555). Pick the bass note and string 2 together on beat 3, then add your little finger to 2:7 on beat 4. That way, you play the melody notes.

🎸 10 Basic Jazz Chords – Learn 10 fundamental grips for Major 7, 7, min7, m7b5, and dim 7 chords!

For the melody over Am7 and D7, there's another option. With finger 1 barring fret 5, play 4:9 with the little finger, then fret 7 with finger 3, fret 6 with finger 2, and fret 5 with finger 1. On beat 3 of the D, play X54XXX, and on beat 4, play a D7b9 (X5454X). Sometimes I use a D Aug (X5433X) or an alternative D7b9 grip (10 X 10 8 7 X).

When the music changes to GMaj7, you can also play G 6/9 (3X223X), a common substitute for the Maj7. There are lots of possible substitutions in jazz – experiment!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Verse

I use this picking pattern in the verses: thumb, 1, 2+3, 1. The thumb plays the bass note, finger 1 plays string 4, finger 2 plays string 3, and finger 3 plays string 2. I use basic jazz chord shapes: GMaj7 (3X443X), Em7 (X7978X), Am7 (5X555X), and D7 (X5757X) or (X5453X).

After two repetitions of that sequence, we move to a B7 (7X787X) instead of GMaj7, then follow the chord sequence as usual. I hold a full B7 chord (797877) in the video but only play the bass note and the middle three strings. You can also barre fret 7 with finger 1 and play 3:8 with finger 2.

In verse two, we repeat the sequence starting on G once, then play GMaj7, Em7, Am7, B7, and Em7 for a whole bar, followed by G7 for a whole bar. For the G7, I nearly always play 3X343X, then add finger 3 to 2:4 to get G7#5 (3X344X). This movement beautifully leads into the bridge.

👉 Chord Manipulation – You might wonder where all these chord names come from! 7#5, Maj7, m7b5, dim, 7b9… jazz gets complex, quick. In our Practical Music Theory Course, we look at chord manipulation and chord extensions in depth.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Bridge

The bridge starts on CMaj7 (X3545X), then moves to Cm6 (X3X243). Some arrangements use CMaj7 to Cmin/Maj7 (X3544X). In any case, the next chord is Bm7 (7X777X), then Bb dim (6X565X), Am7 (5X555X), D7, then GMaj7 for a whole bar.

Then comes the weird bit! We go C#m7b5 (X4X453) to F#7b9 (2X2323), Bm7, E7 (X7979X), Am7, D9 (X54555), Am11 (5X553X), then D7 (or D Aug).

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Final Verse

This verse is slightly different. We play the usual verse sequence twice, then go GMaj7, Em7, Am7, B7, then Em7 for a full bar. Over the Em7, I often play Em (X79987), E min/Maj7 (X7988X), and Em7 (X7978X) to get the rhythmic movement on string 3. Then we go to G7 for a full bar, adding G7#5. We finish with a bar of CMaj7, then Am7 and D7, each for half a bar.

💡 Em7 Alternative – In the song demo, I played X7578X for Em7. This is another great minor 7 grip.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Outro

The outro uses the same chords as the intro. It's a great idea to add the melody notes over the Am7 and D7, as we did in the intro. For D7, play D9 (X57555), then D7b9 (10 X 10 8 7 X). Switch to a G 6/9 (3X2233) when the music changes to G, and target the note G at 1:3. You get a nice movement from E to F# to G in the melody.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Rhythm

Throughout the song, I play a fairly consistent pattern with my picking hand: thumb, 1, 2+3, 1. You could use more fingerstyle, arpeggiate more, or add a walking bass – see what cool sounds you can create!

It's a good idea to add little pauses at the end of each line. Think of your tempo like a falling leaf. You speed up and play at a higher tempo, then slow down and rest for a while before speeding back up again. Do this with both the volume and the tempo.

It works well in the intro, and I like pausing at the end of each sequence. It brings your playing to life!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Varying the Chords

I'm playing simple jazz chords in this song, but there are other options. If you want to use complex ones, feel free! Just make sure they don't clash with the melody notes. For instance, at one point in the song, there is an E melody note over a D7. If you swap D7 for D7b9 (D, F#, A, C, Eb), you'll hit the note Eb, which will clash with the melody note. It won't sound good!

Have great fun playing this one for friends and family at Christmas time! See you for more song lessons soon, and have a fantastic Christmas! Laters. :)

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