Figuring out chords

[ksdaddy]

One of the most refreshing things I can do as it relates to playing guitar is randomly selecting a song that I wouldn't normally play, something that typically isn't associated with being "guitar friendly". By "guitar friendly" I mean James Taylor, John Denver et al. Maybe I'd even pick something that would be considered guitar hostile just for the challenge. A good place to start would be the whole early 80s Tears for Fears / Cutting Crew genre, where keyboards ruled. You would really be surprised how neat some songs can sound when stripped of all that extra junk. Talk about a paradigm shift! Now I'm only talking chords here, to conjure up an "unplugged" version of a song. We all do it.

 

So for reasons known only to the demons who create the voices in my head, last night I harkened back to the spring of my senior year and the class of '78 practicing our class song (Chicago - I've been Searching so Long) and I remember a bunch of guys breaking out with a rousing rendition of Bonnie Tyler's "It's a Heartache", a single on the charts at the time.

 

So like a hypnotized zombie or a robot on a mission, I walked to and grabbed the nearest six string mistress and proceeded to plunk it out, very much off key but actually less raspy than Ms. Tyler since I haven't had a smoke in 21 months. And I'll be buggered if I could NOT figure out that second chord. Seems like I fought with that for 20 minutes before finally googling it. Which brings me to my point (yes, there is one). The first site I went to was completely wrong, I mean omigod...WHAT? Noooo.... as dumb as I am I KNOW those chords ain't right! The second one seemed to nail it spot on. The caveat is that just because it's on the net doesn't give it any credibility and if one doesn't sound right, search again!

 

The missing chord?

 

I was playing it in the key of C which has no sharps or flats, so when searching I doodled all over the neck, humming, strumming, humming some more, NOTHING sounded right.

 

But I forgot the III chord is a minor, so I was trying C Dm E F G7 Am B....

 

The mystery chord was Em.

 

All that aggravation for want of a flatted 3rd.

 

Now I can't get the song out of my head and even the voices are screaming for mercy.

[Johnt]

One of the most refreshing things I can do as it relates to playing guitar is randomly selecting a song that I wouldn't normally play' date=' something that typically isn't associated with being "guitar friendly". By "guitar friendly" I mean James Taylor, John Denver et al. Maybe I'd even pick something that would be considered guitar hostile just for the challenge. A good place to start would be the whole early 80s Tears for Fears / Cutting Crew genre, where keyboards ruled. You would really be surprised how neat some songs can sound when stripped of all that extra junk. Talk about a paradigm shift! Now I'm only talking chords here, to conjure up an "unplugged" version of a song. We all do it.

 

So for reasons known only to the demons who create the voices in my head, last night I harkened back to the spring of my senior year and the class of '78 practicing our class song (Chicago - I've been Searching so Long) and I remember a bunch of guys breaking out with a rousing rendition of Bonnie Tyler's "It's a Heartache", a single on the charts at the time.

 

Now I can't get the song out of my head and even the voices are screaming for mercy.[/quote']

 

That song does that to folk KSD"!

 

One reason is that Bonnie Tyler is Welsh born Gaynor Hopkins I believe (love child of Sit Anthony alledgedly)

 

Reason 2 she can't sing

 

Reason 3, unless I am mistaken that song was written by Jim wahtshis name who wrote all the Meatloaf stuff.

 

THATS IT I am voluteering for a full frontal labatomy!

[Hall]

Isn't that called,"THERAPY"? I like to pick out old 'standards' and figure them out in some fashion with my now forever hoarse voice doing them supreme injustice. Big Band 30's & 40' are good fun also, especially pure instrumental. Anybody happen to know Will Bradley's, 'Celery Stalks at Midnight'? I think I had one of those former life things in that era, or maybe just a spiked Instant Breakfast this morning. Me dunno.

 

Steve

[TheLiveSoundGuy]

I hate that. It drives me nuts.

[L5Larry]

The "missing one chord" syndrome will drive you completely nuts. My "hot licks" guitar player and I have been playing together for 15 years and it seems like EVERYTIME we can't figure out that ONE chord, it turns out to be a G major. Being jazz and blues guys, straight majors are just not something you use that often. We would try every extension in the book just to find out it was a plain old G.

 

Now we try the "G" first.

[jefleppard]

 

Now I can't get the song out of my head and even the voices are screaming for mercy.

 

and thanks to your story, neither can i!

 

really, though. good story. and you bring up a topic that i've ranted about at my songwriting class. what is a song. sure, every era has had its instrumentation treatments, sounds, productions, techniques and styles that were in vogue but a song is still a song and this is evident when played with a simple accompaniment. funny you mention tears for fears. their song, mad world, was redone recently for a tv soundtrack by gary jules. what was originally a new wave/techno song was now a beautifully haunting piano ballad and its strength as a song and the message of its lyric became evident.

here's a link...

you can do this exercise with any song, any genre, any artist or period. a great song can stand up to this test because when you strip it down, the song relies only on the strength of its melody and lyric. sometimes a powerful lyric can be lost in the mire. it a great exercise. thanks for that, KSD.

[ksdaddy]

Which is why I would fire Willie Nelson's band and make them homeless*. Willie and Trigger can do it all. Some of the best music ever created by a human.

 

* except the harmonica player. Him, we should disembowel.