Published:
2023-11-27
Updated:
2026-07-15
Learning Ukulele with Curt
Can't Help Falling In Love
Author(s): Curt Sheller Publisher: Curt Sheller Publications Code: ULHA-YB-51a
Main Category: Harmonic-Analysis Main Instrument: Any
Subjects: Chords
2026-07-15
Can't Help Falling In Love
Released: 1962
Can't Help Falling In Love is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley for the album Blue Hawaii (1961). It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on "Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman as "Can't Help Falling in Love with Him", which explains the first and third line ending on "in" and "sin" rather than words rhyming with "you".
"Can't Help Falling in Love" was featured in Presley's 1961 film Blue Hawaii. It has also been recorded by many other artists, including Swedish pop group A-Teens, and the British reggae group UB40, whose 1993 version topped the US and UK charts. It was listed as one of the greatest songs of all-time by Rolling Stone, ranking #403 in the list's 2012 edition. wikiwand
Elvis Presley's version of the song topped the British charts in 1962, spending four weeks at no. 1. The single is certified Platinum by the RIAA, for US sales in excess of one million copies. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 behind Joey Dee and the Starliters' "Peppermint Twist" and went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for six weeks. wikiwand
Can't Help Falling In Love is in the The Daily Ukulele — 365 Songs for Better Living book.
Strum a different song every day with easy arrangements of 365 of your favorite songs in one big songbook! The Daily Ukulele features ukulele arrangements with melody, lyrics and uke chord grids and are in ukulele-friendly keys that are particularly suited for groups of one to one hundred to play and sing.
Ukulele Chords
These and many other chords are covered in the Learn A Chord A Day series of lessons.
C Tuning Chords
In the Daily Ukulele series of book the chords are actually listing in their order of appearance. And, are always the basic open position chords when possible.
Starting Melody Note and 1st Interval
Intervals Legend: Root=note that begins a scale of the starting key; C is C, D is D, Am is A, Em is E, etc… m=minor; M=Major; P=Perfect; D=Diminished; A=Augmented. • ↑ is up/ascending; ↓ is down/descending;
Harmonic Analysis (HA) Worksheet
Visit the Harmonic Analysis for Scale and Chord Selection series of lessons for information on creating your own Harmonic Analysis Worksheet
1.
2.
Turnback chords are always a good harmonic addition to add to an arrangement.
VII7
(V of III)
VII7
(V of III)
VII7
(V of III)
VI7
(V of II)
B Mix-2-6
B Mix-2-6
B Mix-2-6
A Mix-2-6
In performance I play the Em as an arpeggio and let the B7 sustain for a half note. Nice touch after strumming the A section. Typically you don;t want to harmonically play the same rhythmn as the melody — but here it works really nice.
Play the
A7
on beat one and
let ring through beats three and four.
I7
(V of IV)
C Mix
The Harmonic Analysis (HA)
A Harmonic Analysis (RMA/HA) and its worksheet are intended to show the function of the chords, the harmonic principles used, the keys and tonalities the song explores. And, can be used for scale selections and chord and scale substitutions.
NOTE: A Harmonic Analysis Worksheet is NOT intended to be a lead leadsheet.
Minimal roadmap information such as repeats, fine, D.S., D.C., and codas has been used in preparing the worksheets to somewhat mirror the leadsheet in the Daily Ukulele book.
Sections, Verse, Chorus, 1st, 2nd Ending, turnbacks …
The worksheets will show 1st, 2nd Ending, turnbacks, etc. as indicated in the Yellow Book
. You should start to recognize that 1st endings typically always return to a previous verse or an 
section. With a 2nd ending, a transition to a different part of the song, a 
or chorus. Harmonic Principles are used for these repeats and transitions.
If turnback chords are not indicated for these 1st and 2nd endings in the original Yellow Book leadsheet, recommended chord(s) will be indicated in parentheses or as an alternate harmony in Red . Typically the last measures or turnbacks will be a chord that resolves to and harmonically leads you to the next section or turning you back to the same section. Typically a V or direct substitution of that next chord.
Nashville Number System (NNS)
Nashville Numbering System always uses four bars/measures per line, no bar lines, and default is each number of the number of beats per bar/measure based on the time signature. If multiple chords in same bar then they are underlined. It can be as simple as converting the Roman Numerals above to Arabic numbers.
At its simplest you simply replace the roman numbers with Arabic numbers. e.g., I becomes 1 , II becomes 2 , etc. The only exception is the bVII7 chord becomes 7 as this borrowed chord from the Mixolydian tonality is so common and the VII (half-diminished seventh) in a major chord is so rare (actually never). And, you could go as far as saying all the modes are numbered: I II III IV V VI VII — just as in the major scale. So calling it a 7 is not that far out.
NNS Chart for Can't Help Falling In Love
NOTE: This will give you an idea of just what the
Nashville Number System
is–basically a Harmonic Analysis (HA/RMA) using Arabic numbers vs. traditional Roman Numerals with a specific goal of creating a shorthand roadmap of a song that can be performed in ANY key. The main reason it was created in the first place in Nashville
studios was to save time and money and not have to rewrite a chart for a singer in a different key than the original chart.
Here is a good overview of the The Nashville Number System Demystified by Dave Martin (July 8, 2022) . Bottom line is you need to know your music theory and how chords work.
Check the definitive book Nashville Number System
Scale Selection
Once a Harmonic Analysis has been completed, scale selections can be made. These scale selections can be either vertical or horizontal choices. And, really, only needed if you are going to take a solo or embellish the melody with added notes.
Scale Abbreviation Legend
Traditional Scales: Maj: Major (Ionian), Nat Min: Natural Minor, Dim: Diminished, WT: Whole Tone, Har Min: Harmonic Minor
Contemporary Scales: Minor Pent: Minor Pentatonic, Pent: Major Pentatonic, Blues
Scale/Mode Names: Ion: Ionian (Major), Dor: Dorian (Minor), Phrygian: Phrygian, Lyd: Lydian, Mix: Mixolydian (Dominant), Aeol: Aeolian (Natural Minor), Loc: Locrian
Altered Scales: Mix+4: Mixolydian Plus 4 / Lydian Dominant, Mix-2-6: Mixolydian flat 2, flat 6
Checkout the Lesson Series: Harmonic Analysis for Scale and Chord Selection or download the Harmonic Analysis for Scale and Chord Selection book. And the QuickStart Series of Scale and Arpeggio books.
Performance Notes
Song Form:
A A B AAABA is the a classic song form.
Quarter Note Triplet
For the Quarter Note Triplet, for the melody, line one, measure six. Please, that is the Melodic Rhythm. DO NOT match the rhythm with your strumming pattern, that is Harmonic Rhythm.
After the three measures of Em B7 , I change the Em to Em7 and A7 should be played on beat two and help. This really sets up the return the A