Learn to play “At Christmas Time” (Pure Heart) on Ukulele
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Print the Lyrics and Chords for “At Christmas Time” (link)
Download the TABS – “At Christmas Time” Ukulele Picking TABS(.pdf)
Hey UUers!
December is here and this time on Uke Lessons, it’s an original Christmas song by Jake Shimabukuro’s Hawaii-based band, Pure Heart. The song is called “At Christmas Time” and in this ukulele Play-Along, Aldrine breaks down everything you need to play it on your ukulele. If you are a beginner, this song is a fun one to practice all of your simple chords in the key of F. And if you are an advanced ukulele player, the song has a picking for you to learn that will keep your fingers warm as we ring in the holidays. It’s fun for everyone!
Feel free to check out the original Pure Heart recording of this song or try playing along with the Ukulele Underground “At Christmas Time” Ukulele Play-Along version above, with on-screen lyrics and chords for you to follow. And if you need help learning this song, start with any of the steps below:
STEP 1 – Chords
Here are the 7 simple chords that you need in order to play this song:
For the Verses the chord pattern goes:
F, Am, Dm, Am, Bb, C7, F, C7
where each chord gets two measures (8 beats total per chord). And whenever the verses transition to the Bridge, the last C7 chord is swapped for an F7.
For the Bridge the chord pattern goes:
Bb, C7, F, F7, Bb, C7, F, F7, Bb, C7, F, F, G7, G7, C7, C7
where each chord gets one measure (4 beats per chord).
If you’re just starting out, practice holding these chord and switching between them in the order of the chord patterns above. Play along with the “At Christmas Time” Ukulele Play-Along at the top of the page and try to play the chords at the right times. And when you’re ready to add some rhythm to your chords, check out Step 2 below:
STEP 2 – Strum
You can always start off with a simple down strum to keep the tempo of the song. Follow the chord patterns in Step 1 above and strum down on each beat (8 beats per chord for the Verses and 4 beats per chord on the Bridges).
After that you can add some up strums between each down strum to get a steady Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up for every 4 beat measure. Next remove the first Up and the third Down (remember to move your hand in that direction, but miss the strings when removing strums), to get the typical “Island” strum.
Finally, replace the second Down with a Chunk and you’re pretty much set. That’s pretty close to what Aldrine is doing in the Play-Along video. You’ll have to practice in order to play it at the same tempo, but once you’ve got it, you’ll be able to play thousands of songs with that same feel.
Try it out by playing along with the “At Christmas Time” Ukulele Play-Along at the top of the page and if you’re brave enough to attempt the picking for this song, check out Step 3 below:
STEP 3 – Picking
This Play-Along version is based heavily on the original version by Pure Heart, though Aldrine definitely plays it in his own style. So while on-screen diagrams and Ukulele TAB will map directly to the Play-Along video, they differ from the picking parts that Jake Shimabukuro does in the original recording. But if you’re down to learn the Aldrine version, be sure to download the
“At Christmas Time” Ukulele Picking TABS sheet
Because we’re in the key of F, most of the notes you’ll be playing are in the F major scale: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E
So memorizing those notes on your fretboard will be helpful. But if you just take the picking part-by-part, and practice it slowly, you’ll be able to get this down in no time. Also remember that YouTube has a slow-down function built in! Click on the little gear icon in the lower right hand corner of the video player and change the Playback Speed to 0.5 or 0.75 to slow down the track. Practice along with the “At Christmas Time” Ukulele Play-Along at the top of the page and when you can play it slow, try increasing the speed back to Normal.
Have fun with this and if you like this song, be sure to check out the UU Archive of Christmas Songs for Ukulele and tutorials and Play-Alongs for the Pure Heart songs “How Can I Get Over” and “Crazy Without You” as well. And if you have any questions or need help learning, please send a message! Happy Holidays UUers, keep strummin’
Aloha,
-UU Staff
