How to Play I Will Always Love You Chord by Whitney Houston on Guitar

“I Will Always Love You” is one of the most famous and beloved songs of all time, written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973, and later covered by Whitney Houston in 1992 for the soundtrack of the movie “The Bodyguard”. The song is a heartfelt ballad about letting go of a lover with grace and dignity, and wishing them the best in life. The song has been praised for its emotional lyrics, powerful vocals, and simple yet effective melody.

In this article, we will show you how to play “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston on guitar, using the chords and tabs provided below. We will also explain some of the techniques and tips that you can use to make your playing sound more authentic and expressive.

Chords and Tabs

The song is in the key of A major, and uses the following chords: A, E/G#, F#m, D, E, Bm, C#m, Bm7, E7, A/C#, D/F#, G, Em, C, D7, G/D, C/G, G/B, Am7, D/F#, Gsus4, G7.

[Verse]
 
G      D       G
If I, should stay
         Em      D
I would only be in
     C   D
Your way
      G      D   G
So I go, but I know
      Em             Dsus4
I'll think of you, every step
        C  D
Of the way
 
 
[Chorus]
 
    G Em C       D
And I-I-I-I will always
      G  Em    C       D           G
Love you, you, I, will always love you
 
 
[Bridge]
 
C              Bm   Am  G
You, my darling you
 
 
[Verse]
 
      G        D G
Bittersweet, memories
          Em          D
That's all I, am taking
     C D
With me
        G       D     G
So goodbye, please don't cry
        Em            D
We both know, I'm not
           C D
What you need
 
 
[Chorus]
 
    G Em C      D
And I-I-I-I will always
      G  Em   C       D            G    D
Love you, you, I, will always love you
 
 
[Solo]
 
G D  G  Em  D  C  D
G    G  Em  D  C  D
 
 
[Verse]
 
  G                D     G
I hope, life treats you kind
       Em              D
And I hope, you have all
               C D
You've dreamed of
                   G
And I wish to you joy, and happines
          Em
But above all of this
       D      C D
I wish you love
 
 
[Chorus]
 
    A F#m D    E
And I-I-I-I will always
     A    F#m       Bm       E     A
Love you, I-I-I, will always love you
F#m  D       E             A
You, I, will always love you
F#m  Bm       E
You, I, will always love you
 
    A F#m D    E
Love you, I will always love you
    A F#m D    E
Love you, I will always...  love you
 
 
[Outro]
 
D
You
           Amaj7
Darling, I love you
      Esus4
I'll always
     E            A
I'll always love you

Intro

e|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B|-----2-----2-----|-----2-----2-----|-----2-----2-----|-----2-----2-----|
G|---2-----2---2---|---2-----2---2---|---2-----2---2---|---4-----4---4---|
D|-2-----2-------2-|-4-----4-------4-|-6-----6-------6-|-4-----4-------4-|
A|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

e|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B|-----3-----3-----|-----3-----3-----|-----3-----3-----|-----3-----3-----|
G|---4-----4---4---|---4-----4---4---|---4-----4---4---|---6-----6---6---|
D|-5-----5-------5-|-7-----7-------7-|-9-----9-------9-|-7-----7-------7-|
A|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

e|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
B|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
G|-1---------------|-1---------------|-1---------------|-1---------------|
D|-2---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
A|-0---------------|-x---------------|-x---------------|-x---------------|
E|-x---------------|-3---------------|-3---------------|-3---------------|

e|--0--------------|--0--------------|--0--------------|--0--------------|
B|--1--------------|--1--------------|--1--------------|--1--------------|
G|--0--------------|--0--------------|--0--------------|--0--------------|
D|--2--------------|--0--------------|--0--------------|--0--------------|
A|--3--------------|--x--------------|--x--------------|--x--------------|
E|--x--------------|--3--------------|--3--------------|--3--------------|

Verse

A              E/G#      F#m             D     E
If I should stay   I would only be in your way
    A           E/G#        F#m                D     E
So I'll go but I know I'll think of you every step of the way

    A     E/G# F#m              D       E
And I will always love you I will always love you
Bm              C#m             Bm7    E7
You my darling you mmm bittersweet memories
    A/C#      D/F#         A/E   E
That is all I'm taking with me so goodbye
D/F#        A/C#        Bm         E
Please don't cry we both know I'm not what you
A
You need

    A     E/G# F#m              D       E
And I will always love you I will always love you

Chorus

G             Em              C              D7
I hope life treats you kind and I hope you have all you've dreamed of
G             Em              C              D7
And I wish to you joy and happiness but above all this I wish you love

    A     E/G# F#m              D       E
And I will always love you I will always love you
    A     E/G# F#m              D       E
I will always love you I will always love you
    A     E/G# F#m              D       E
I will always love you I will always love you
A
I will always love you

Bridge

G/D  C/G  G/B  Am7  G/D  C/G  G/B  Am7

Gsus4 G7 C   G/B Am7 D/F# Gsus4 G7 C

    A     E/G# F#m              D       E
And I will always love you I will always love you
    A     E/G# F#m              D       E
I will always love you I will always love you
    A     E/G# F#m              D       E
I will always love you I will always love you
A
I will always love you

Techniques and Tips

Here are some of the techniques and tips that you can use to make your playing sound more authentic and expressive:

• For the intro, use your thumb to pluck the bass notes on the low E, A, and D strings, and use your index, middle, and ring fingers to pluck the treble notes on the G, B, and high E strings. Try to keep your fingers close to the strings and avoid unnecessary movements. You can also add some vibrato or slides to some of the notes for more expression.
• For the verse and the chorus, use a medium pick and strum the chords with a steady down-up pattern. You can also accent some of the beats or syncopate some of the strums for more rhythm. You can also mute some of the strings with your left hand or palm mute with your right hand for more dynamics. You can also change the voicings of some of the chords for more variety. For example, you can play an A chord as x02220, x07650, or 577655.
• For the bridge, use a combination of fingerstyle and strumming techniques. For the first part, pluck the chords with your fingers as in the intro. For the second part, strum the chords with your pick as in the verse and chorus. You can also add some hammer-ons or pull-offs to some of the notes for more embellishment.

Conclusion

“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston is a beautiful song that showcases her amazing vocal range and emotion. The song is also a great example of how to use simple chords and melody to create a powerful musical statement. By following the chords and tabs provided in this article, and applying some of the techniques and tips suggested, you can learn how to play this song on guitar and impress your friends and family. Remember to practice slowly and carefully, and have fun playing this classic song.