Elvis - Heartbreak Hotel SOLO guitar tutorial - Scotty Moore style

Breaking down why "Heartbreak Hotel" is a great solo for everyone to learn, especially beginners. It uses E minor pentatonic starting up at the 12th fret on the thinnest strings - where all the good stuff happens. This gets you out of the bad habit of always starting scales from string six and working your way up.

The solo uses notes at the 12th fret (B note on the B string), then D, then E: 12-15-12. It starts with a flat first finger position, includes a slide down (a great throwaway technique where you don't hear a distinct end note), and repeats the pattern with variations.

The key technique is the whole-step bend - bending the D note up to the pitch of E. For real beginners, I'd suggest just playing 12 and 12 straight, but the actual way uses a unison bend. There are three finger options for this bend, all valid depending on your hand size and strength:

Pinky finger bend (supported by third finger): This is how Angus Young does string bends. He's a smaller guy with smaller hands, so he learned to use his pinky supported by the third finger for any bends on the B string. This is my recommendation for most people.

Third finger bend (supported by middle finger): If you have chunky fingers and hands, this might feel more comfortable. Paul Gilbert calls this the "giant first finger" or "giant finger" - you can really push up with multiple fingers supporting the bend.

Middle finger bend: Many of my favorite players like Dan Hawkins of The Darkness and Slash often use just the middle finger because they have really strong hands.

Whichever finger you use, don't push up vertically - pivot around the wrist at an angle, like you're going in for a handshake with your fretting hand. The fingers don't actually move; it's the wrist pivoting. This is the biggest lead guitar technique to master.

Bending in tune (intonation) is crucial. This is a two-fret bend (whole step), bending D up to E. If you bend too far or not far enough, it sounds bad. However, if you're a little bit out, there's a tension that actually sounds cool - especially that "tear" between the pitches getting closer. This slight out-of-tune quality is actually a recording technique; each note being slightly off standard tuning makes the harmonics either harsher or more pleasant.

The song context: after the verse over E7, there's a power chord section, then B7 back to E7 before the solo. The ending uses the standard blues progression finishing on F7 to E7. This solo teaches not just string bending but also those throwaway slide-down techniques that add character to your playing.