How to Play Til a Tear Becomes a Rose by Keith Whitley

If you are anything like me you love Keith Whitley songs. And if you want to know how to play Til a Tear Becomes a Rose by Keith Whitley. Then you are in the right place. I created this guitar lesson for you. Here is what will be covered.

In this guitar lesson How to Play Til a Tear Becomes a Rose you will learn:

  • How to Play Til a Tear Becomes a Rose
  • The Chords to Til a Tear Becomes a Rose
  • Til a Tear Becomes a Rose chord progression
  • Lyrics to Til a Tear Becomes a Rose
  • Strumming Pattern
  • Sheet Music
  • Bonus Video

If this sounds like if would be fun to learn. Grab your guitar and lets learn Til a Tear Becomes a Rose By Keith Whitley.

First things first make sure your guitar is in tune. Not just for this song. But every time you pick up your guitar to play it, this should be step 1. This way the song will sound great. I recommend the Roadie 2. An easy to use tuner. Click here for current pricing on Amazon.

If you need help tuning your guitar take a look at this quick & easy lesson how to tune your guitar.

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The Chords to Til a Tear Becomes a Rose

Let’s take a look at the chords that are in this song. There are 5 easy open chords in the song Til a Tear Becomes a Rose By Keith Whitley. They are: D G C A and E. I’m not taking anything for granted. Not everyone is at the same level of guitar playing. So let me show you these chords.

Let me just say that there is a capo on the 1st fret. So technically the chords have a different name because the key is different. But don’t worry about that. We are using the Feel of each of the chords. So when I say D Major chord. I will show you where to place your fingers in the feel of the D Major. But since there is a Capo the Chord is not a D Major Chord.

But No worries you don’t need to worry about that. Just play the ones I’m going to show you and everything will be just fine.

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D Major is the first chord in Til a Tear Becomes a Rose

Here is the finger Position for the D Major Chord.

Open D
  1. You place your first finger on the 3rd string, at the 2nd fret.
  2. Then your second finger is on the 1st string, at the 2nd fret.
  3. Next your 3rd finger is on the 2nd string, at the 3rd fret.
  4. You play from the 4th string down. Don’t play the 5th and 6th string.

If you need help with chords, strumming or any basic fundamentals of guitar. Then take a look at the Courses at Sharon’s Guitar Academy.

G Chord is in Til a Tear Becomes a Rose

Let’s take a look at the finger position of the G Major Chord below.

There are several ways to make the G chord here is one of them.

  1. Put your First finger on the 5th string, at the 2nd fret.
  2. Your second finger goes on the 6th string, at the 3rd fret.
  3. Then your 3rd finger goes on the 1st string at the 3rd fret.
  4. Strum all the strings when playing the G chord.

You could also play the G chord by moving that 3rd finger up a string. To the 2nd string, keeping it on the 3rd fret. Then place your pinkie on the 1st string, at the 3rd fret.

Guitar Fingerboard Breakthrough

Get the Sheet Music for Til a Tear Becomes a Rose

If you want this PDf to help you when playing the song. Here it is click the link for the Cheat Sheet.

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Try both G’s out and either way will work. Use the one that you are comfortable with playing. Next chord in the song is the C Major Chord. Take a look at the finger position of the C chord below.

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Finger Position of the C Major

The C might be a hard chord for you to learn how to play. It’s strait forward, but there is a big stretch to play this one. Learning how to hold your fretting hand properly will help with learning how to play the chords. Take a look at 10 things every beginner guitar player needs to know.

  1. When playing the C your first finger is on the 2nd string, at the first fret.
  2. Then your 2nd finger is positioned on the 4th string, at the 2nd fret.
  3. Your 3rd finger is on the 5th string, at the 3rd fret.
  4. Do not play the 6th string when strumming the C chord.

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Another chord in this Keith Whitley Song Til a Tear Becomes a Rose is A Major

  1. All fingers are on the second fret.
  2. Place your first finger on the 4th string.
  3. Second finger is on the third string.
  4. Your 3rd finger on the 2nd string.
  5. Don’t play the 6th string when playing the A chord.

Want to learn more ways to make the A Major look at this lesson 5 ways to play the A Chord.


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Finally the E Major Chord

Here is how to play the E Major Chord.

E Major Chord
  1. Put your first finger on the 3rd string, at the 1st fret.
  2. Your 2nd finger goes on the 5th string, at the 2nd fret.
  3. And your 3rd finger is on the 4th string, at the 2nd fret.
  4. You can strum all the strings when playing the E chord.

Okay lets go over the chord progression.

Til a Tear Becomes a Rose chord progression

In the intro of the song there is a E and then A. And then the verse begins. A D E A A D E A A D A E A A D A E A A D E A A D E A

There is a Walk up to the chords and there is bass line picking. So let me show you what I mean. Here is the rhythm pattern of the song. But if you want a more in depth look at the strumming take a look at this Alternate Baseline picking.

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Strumming Pattern to Til a Tear Becomes a Rose

The way you pick the E chord. First position your fretting hand to make the E chord. Then we are going to pick the Bass note of the E chord. Which is the open E string. Hence the name of the string.

Pick the open 6th string then strum the E chord. Next leaving your fingers in position for the E chord. Pick the 5th string, and then strum again. This may seem a little difficult at first. But just take it slow and practice picking the 6th string strum, and then 5th string and strum. Do this until its smooth, then move to the next chord.

Which is going to be the A chord. Once your hands are in position to make that A chord. Then you want to pick the A string. Which is the 5th string. And then strum the A chord. Next you want to pick that E string, strum the A chord.

There is a walk up to the D chord from the A. So I might as well show you that now. And then I will show you the picking that is involved with the D chord.

What we want to do is when you are on that A chord. Pick the open E string. After that place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret, pick it. Place your fourth finger on the 6th string at the 4th fret and play it. And then pick the open A string.

Remember the Capo is on the first fret. So I am referring to the frets using the Capo. This means that the Capo is zero or like the nut of the guitar. So count the frets from the Capo.

Then it goes to the A Chord. So remember that walk up it is played several times in the song.

When you play the D chord and want to pick the bass notes. You get your fingers in position to play the D chord. Then you want to pick the D string. Which is the 4th string. Then strum the chord. After that pick the A string. Which is the 5th string, and strum.

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Related Article: How to Strum a Guitar Beginner lesson.

The Walk up

The song starts on E for a bar and then goes to A. Then there is the Walk up that You just learned. After that it goes back to the A chord for a bar. The D for a Bar then E, and then back to A. After the A there is the Walk up.

Back to the A chord. Next is the D and then the E chord.

Lori Morgan starts singing. “Dearest Love”. Which is the verse. You then play the A, D and back to the E chord. After the E comes the A chord again. Remember your picking the bass notes and strumming.

After that A chord is another walk up. And you are now on the A chord. Play that D and then A again and E back to A, and another walk up. And A again. Are you starting to get the feel for this? A D E A Walk up, A D E A.

The song actually changes keys.

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Key Change in Til a Tear Becomes a Rose Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan

When the song changes keys. What you want to do is take the capo, and move it to the 3rd fret. To learn more about how a Capo works. Take a look at Whats the use of a Guitar Capo.

The first chord once the key changes is the A. Next is the E chord, and then A. Your still strumming the bass notes in the chord.

The next chord is D, and then A, E, A. Walk up and A, D, A, E A. Walk up. D, A, E, A. The Outro is one beat of the E. Or strum of the E, and one of the A chord.

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Related Questions

Til a Tear Becomes a Rose YouTube

There are a lot of great Country songs on YouTube. And a lot of Guitar lessons. If you like Til a Tear Becomes a Rose YouTube Video take a look at the lesson on my YouTube Channel right here called YourGuitarGuide.

Who is Keith Whitley’s Wife

Keith Whitley married Country singer Lorrie Morgan when he was on tour promoting an Album. Source

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