Want to learn your first ukulele finger-picking song? King of Rock and Roll’s Can’t Help Falling in Love couldn’t be more perfect.
Written by John Allnutt / Published March 11, 2025
Last updated: N/A
Hello ukulele friends! Today, I’m going to show you how to play the song ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, made famous by Elvis Presley, on the ukulele.
Now, this is a comprehensive tutorial and I’m going to give you multiple options on how to play these chords based on your current level. So without further ado, let’s jump straight in!
Finger-Picking Basics for Beginners
This is a really fun song to play and how I hear it most often is finger-picked. I’m going to go over some general finger-picking tips and try to keep it as easy as possible. If you haven’t done it before, it does take a little bit of practice to get down. But once you get it, it’s actually very simple to do.
Understanding PIMA Notation
Oftentimes, diagrams or tabs will say something about PIMA. P (Pulgar) is your thumb, I (Indice) is your index or pointer finger, M (Medio) is your middle finger, and A (Anular) is your ring finger.
We usually don’t use the pinkie so it’s not covered. Although, some people do like to use their pinkie as an anchor on an instrument just to get a little bit more stability while they’re playing, just so their hand isn’t totally ‘floating’ on the instrument. Whether you choose to do this, is up to you.
How to Position Your Fingers Correctly
Starting with the picking hand first, try plucking the strings from the ceiling to the floor using P, I, M, A. Be sure to only use one finger for each separate string. Once you’re comfortable going down, try going back up in the reverse order (A, M, I, P). The next step is to try and connect both down and up, only playing the A string once. (View the timestamp here.)
If it’s your first time finger-picking through this song, I recommend just plucking the strings simultaneously with your fingers. It sounds a bit like strumming but it has a softer tone quality. This will get you used to the plucking motion vice strumming.
Practicing Finger-Picking Patterns
If you’ve done some finger-picking before or you feel like you’re comfortable with it, this song is famous for having a triplet feel. Adding the chords to the exercise above, you can hear how it sounds similar to the original song.
So that’s how I would play this song – finger-pick broken chords.
A broken chord is when each note of the chord is played individually rather than strummed together.
Can’t Help Falling in Love – Ukulele Walkthrough
Ukulele Chords
To play this song, you’re going to need to be able to play the following chords:
How to Play the Chorus-Verse Step-by-Step
Let’s take a look at the song itself now. We are going to play in the key of C, and that’ll be the very first chord with the lyric “Wise”. See how it’s plucked and how it sounds at 3:28.
Next chord you have is E minor, “men”. I personally prefer to play Em7, which is 0 2 0 2 as I think the minor seventh note adds something a little bit extra.
From there, you’ll play A minor, “say”, and then, we’re going to go to an F chord, only [F] fools, [C] rush, [G7] in, and back to [F]. But I [G7] can’t [C] help. Then we go to D minor and that’s 2 2 1 0, [Dm] falling in [C] love [G7] with you [C].
And that’s the very first verse. Hear how I play it from start to finish here.
The second verse chords are actually going to be a simple repeat of the first verse.
How to Play the Bridge Step-By-Step
When we get to the next part of the song, like a river flows, I’m actually going to change my Em7 to E minor now. The reason for this is as follows…
E minor is played 0 4 3 2 from the ceiling to the floor. It looks like stair steps as you’re playing. If you move that same shape and move all your fingers up one string (up the elevator) towards the ceiling you get a B7, the next chord.
[Em] Like a river [B7] flows surely to the sea [Em], Darling so it goes [B7] some things…
Then the pattern changes to an A7 chord, [A7] are meant to [Dm] be [G7]. [C] Take my hand…
Does that sound recognizable? That last chord change to the C leads us back into the verse again.
Now, I’d like to go back and I’d like you to play finger-picking with me on each section. Check it out at 5:30. Here are the tabs below:
Adding a Reggae Twist
Now, if you are opposed to finger-picking the song entirely, I’m going to cover the song with somewhat of a reggae beat for a different feel.
Here is the song with a reggae beat and it’s kind of like one. The first verse goes something like this.
To achieve that Reggae feel, I’m muting the strings with my hand on alternate down beats. This takes some practice but keep at it and you’ll get it!
Parting Words
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ is one of my absolute favorite songs to play on the ukulele. If you have any similar song recommendation or any other song that you’d like us to cover, just leave a comment below.
Until next time. Happy strumming and today, happy picking!
John Allnutt
Writer & Ukulele TeacherJohn has been teaching music since 2008 and resides in Richmond, Kentucky with his wife Laura and dog Sam. In his spare time he enjoys growing and cooking food, roasting coffee, playing board games, and spreading joy through playing and teaching music.
