How to Play Christmastime is Here on the Guitar: Solo Chord Melody Arrangement

Video Transcript

Note: a machine made this, so it’s not perfect, but if you’re hearing impaired and have any questions about what we said, please feel free to ask us in the comments or send us an email with the form below. 

[00:00:00] Emily: Welcome to get offset. My name is Emily. I’m going to show you today. How to play. Uh, Christmas time is here. At least the way I play it on electric guitar. Uh, based on this, a chord melody arrangement, a jazzy version, you all know it probably from the Charlie brown Christmas special or should say the peanuts Christmas special.

[00:00:20] I don’t know the exact name of it. Houston would be fan. I actually played that. That was my audition tape for Berkeley college music. And it got me in, I trust. They couldn’t guarantee me housing. I’m sorry for the wide shot, having this in frame, but Hey, you’re not gonna see most. You’re not gonna spend most of the time.

[00:00:39] It’s going to be a lot of close up over here. So we’re going to go ahead and go over to that camera Hattie, Hattie. And I’m going to walk you through this as quickly and efficiently as I can. I’m playing by her signature Stratocaster, and we’ll try to talk to you. Through it show you how to play it. Um, hopefully we can get through this together.

[00:00:59] So you’re going to start with a nice little cascading shape. We’re going to put our index finger. We’re gonna start with this part. We’re going to put our index finger on the high east string. We’re going to call that the one high E string. The one that would be the ninth fret B string, the two on the 10th.

[00:01:23] We’re going to have the, uh, our ring finger on the 11th fret on the G string. And that’s going to be our shape. That’s what it will sound like wrung out. And we are going to pick that with our thumb and ring finger. We are going to pick the outside notes. We’re going to pick the four and the. One string and then we are going to pick the inside strings.

[00:01:57] So that would be the two and the three. Those are your first notes. Congratulations. You got it. You’re you through the hard stuff.

[00:02:09] Then we are going to move so very quickly,

[00:02:15] we’re going to plug with our thumb, the five string. And as we pluck that, we’re going to take that opportunity to move and change shapes.

[00:02:33] So we are going to hit that open string. I like to put my, uh, my middle finger on the, uh, two string us, the B string at the seventh fret.

[00:02:50] And then I make a. You can just do a bark or so, so that’s what we have so far.

[00:03:11] so the notes we are playing and I kind of am barring that. For no real reason yet. It’s um, you have the six string. That’s the low E I have my ring finger on the eighth string. I have my index finger on the five string at the seventh fret I have on the. For string and the D string and my pinky finger on the eighth fret.

[00:03:44] And I have my middle finger on the, um, four, uh, on the three string on the seventh fret. So I’m going 8, 7, 8, 7.

[00:04:02] So

[00:04:07] I just find it easier to borrow there, I guess,

[00:04:13] or playing that pattern twice

[00:04:23] and I’ve read. So I basically bar and then I reinforced by putting that middle finger there. Anyway, it’s just easier for me to play it. However, it’s easy for.

[00:04:42] So great.

[00:04:54] Then we’re going to move down the front. And we’re going to take up this shape. I ref my, I wrapped my thumb around to hit the low Eastern on the four fourth fret. I have my on the third string. I have my ring finger on the fourth fret, a middle finger on the B string on the third fret index finger up here on the second.

[00:05:40] So that’s what we’re trying to. So we have again, uh, like before taking some outside notes with a bass note. So like we played, we’re hitting the bass notes,

[00:05:58] then we’re going down

[00:06:03] instead of playing the bass note with the high note

[00:06:09] first kind of doing a pass. Uh, a thumb, a thumb and four, sorry. I was six and three going down six and three. Mm. And that would be the, uh, third fret sixth string. Uh, third fret, third string. Second fret, second string. Mm.

[00:06:38] And then we’re changing the shape up a little bed. It’s basic kind of like a sustained sustained acorn with, um, the F sharp and the base there. So that second front with a thumb on sixth string, open high E second fret on the B string. Second, Fred.

[00:07:08] and then you’re doing that again, passing. So,

[00:07:19] so, so instead of saying the eighth string, we are passing, uh, I have my middle finger on the fourth for fourth, for fourth.

[00:07:47] Actually,

[00:07:51] I kind of am trying to blend both of those at the same time with my thumb,

[00:07:58] but really what’s important is that you get the open.

[00:08:11] So, um, what you’re doing there is you’re basically heading the OpenAir

[00:08:20] and then you are on the B string and you are trying to hit, and you are a sensibly heading the open, open me B. Open again. So I like to do it with, um,

[00:08:42] with the, I like to also try to hit it with the, um, my middle finger hitting the, uh, fourth string of fourth fresh

[00:08:57] I think it’s supposed to be that way. And I just.

[00:09:05] Then moved to, uh, this cord here.

[00:09:15] so this cord, so after you hit your, uh,

[00:09:24] the high is pretty important there. So it is a third frat second string. 43rd string fret fourth string. So

[00:09:40] you’re already there on the second string.

[00:09:47] This core is a little hard to see, but it is middle finger on the eighth middle finger on the eighth string.

[00:09:59] Um, middle finger, fifth fret, a string, uh, index finger fourth front, uh, third, fourth string. That’s the D string and then pinky finger. Or if you have a bigger hand, you could probably play your, uh, ring finger, their mind. Doesn’t cooperate. Uh, that’d be the sixth

[00:10:23] So from there we have,

[00:10:35] so from the top, very slowly, we have.

[00:11:00] And then you would play that pattern twice. And the second time after this chord, you slide your pinky up. We’re going to play this part.

[00:11:30] don’t worry. We’re going to get through it together. So you gonna slide your pinky up. Exactly. One fret from the, uh, G strings six two at 700. You’re going to lay down your ring finger to your B string, second strings, six fret.

[00:11:53] And then you’re going to bar across the entire fifth fret from the eighth string across. And you’re going to put your it’s. One of those funny jazz chords. You’re going to put your, um, middle finger goes on the sixth string.

[00:12:18] Um, so then you play, it’s pretty hard to play that slow, but I’m, you’re playing the a you’re plucking the both of you strengths. So you’re doing your pattern again, where you are tension. The highest strings in the low E string, and then you’re pinching your B and G strings, and then you are going low E

[00:12:52] you’re transitioning to your next core, which is very close. It is, you’re still barring that fifth fret, but now you have your index finger. Uh, the sixth fret of that, um, a string and, uh, you also have on the sixth fret of the B string and the G string. So, so,

[00:13:26] so another pluck and pinch.

[00:13:35] I can do that pattern twice. And you, your hand feels a little cramped, so you get to stretch it out. You’re going to bar across the second fret here from the D string to the high E and then you’re going to reach down with your pinky to the fifth Fred. You’re going to hit the straight, all your applique, all the strings at once.

[00:14:00] And then you’re going to release the pinky, just in, you’re going to plug the string. You gonna plug all of them.

[00:14:08] So what we have is.

[00:14:22] So then, uh, after that, after you do your, a bad side by, you got to get to the fireside. So you’re going to pluck just, you’re going to move your pinky and ring finger to the fifth fret of the E and G the one and three streets, respectively near a pluck justice. You’re not going to play that full chord yet, but you are going to bar across the top, right on the.

[00:14:50] Um,

[00:14:56] and you’re going to move all that whole shape down, or you don’t have to borrow, you can play it like that.

[00:15:04] So you have you,

[00:15:10] or so you can either just play that in the highest string or you can play. E and G strike the ENB, uh, G strings. Yeah. So

[00:15:27] yeah. Good spot. Then we move to,

[00:15:39] um,

[00:15:47] That’s and this is part, this is this, this is where I get into my, my personal muscle memory a little bit. So bear with me just a smudge.

[00:16:00] So then we have, we have a index finger on the. Second fret of the eighth string, then we’ve we hit that with our thumb, our ring finger. We plug the third fret of the high string.

[00:16:40] Yeah, there we go. We’re at a bar. So we have our, our low note or high note. That’s our low note is the, um,

[00:16:56] the B note we’re hitting that G note up there.

[00:17:03] We’re going to stay on that high east string, that third floor, that E where we were going to book, we’re going to bar across the second friend from the G string

[00:17:18] and we’re going to pluck all of them.

[00:17:24] And then we are going to hit an Oak, all of them again. So we’re going to. Hit pluck all released to an open plug all for the strings again, but this time we were only going to press on the, uh, D string. That’s the fourth string at the first fret.

[00:17:51] So after we go.

[00:17:58] And

[00:18:02] we have a little, so this is a, uh, a barred cord we’re on a bar from the, uh, G to the E. And we’re going to make sure that the, um, first, uh, fret is a hit on the D string.

[00:18:28] Uh,

[00:18:37] but, um, basically after, so after you hit this corn,

[00:18:47] it’s a bit of a kind of, basically you’re heading it’s. It’s almost like a normal bar chord.

[00:18:57] It’s kind of the gist of it. We don’t want to really hit past that. Uh, a g-string there.

[00:19:09] So the whole, that whole section is essentially, um, this is pretty slowly

[00:19:39] congratulations. And then all you have to do is play the beginning section again, but you can play with a twist, which is what I did. Is that play? I play so you can play it. You can just play those first. You can just hit all four of those first notes together,

[00:20:01] and then you can go down and play high IE on the fifth fret. Uh, so that’s one on the fifth fret two on the seventh for. And three on the sixth fret

[00:20:22] um, same next core, but you just kind of changed the pattern up

[00:20:35] and then the next, and then the next time you want to get really fancy, you can go, um,

[00:20:43] Um, I was always start, always start at the seventh fret when you that, so you can land right into that. Um, um,

[00:21:03] but before you go into an open court, you don’t go into that. You do not go into that cord. You go into hormone. So you’re going to go up to 12th brat. You’re going to hit that open E on the open Lowy, and you’re going to harmonic the 12th at the 12th, fret the, uh, two, three and four strings. You’re going to on the seventh fret, get the hormone.

[00:21:35] On the three strings, and then you got to get all three of those harmonics and that’s 12th spread again.

[00:21:46] And you’re still at that low. He bring up the whole time and then you’re going to go up to the fifth fret on the eighth string. That’s I mean, the D string as the fourth string, you’re going to bar that, make sure you do not hit that. Uh, that G string, cause you’re gonna want to get the harmonic there. Hit the open a fourth string.

[00:22:11] So you have doing that. I’m making sure I’m not hitting that. Harmonic with my pinkie,

[00:22:23] letting that ring out. And since that’s, A’s ringing out now, I’m going to the 10th fret on the low ye hang the harmonic with my pinky on the high E.

[00:22:43] The I’m going to bar that, but that ring out, let those other notes die out of smudge 11th, fret on the D and G 12th. Fred’s on the B and a.

[00:23:07] There you have it. Christmas time is here.

[00:23:20] This is the first tutorial I’ve done in. Um, so thank you for your patience with that one. Let me know what you thought. Uh, leave comments, feedback, suggestions. Um, if there’s anything you need, don’t think they’ll know if I’m going to be able to do like a tab or anything like, like that. Um, but I hope that you found this helpful.

[00:23:43] Have you can suss it together a little bit better and can play it for your friends and family who might actually appreciate. Over the holidays. I know mine. Sure, sure do. So, um, yeah, please like comment, subscribe below. Check us out at patrion.com/get offset. Check out our merchant gifts at podcast.com/shop.

[00:24:03] Um, thanks for watching. Thanks for understanding until next time. My name is Emily goodbye.