Help identifying chords...(Argh!)

[Thighbanez]

Can anyone help me with this one?
I'm not experienced/smart/musically inclined enough yet to figure out all of the chords to this song (that I LOVE SO MUCH!).



Can anyone please help me with the chords? I know the first two are E and F Minor, but I can't get the rest. I spent all last night trying to figure it out and I couldn't, even with the video helping.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide...

[Andy R]

E F#- A B7 over and over, at the end of the chorus she plays a C#- instead of the F#- one time, the bridge is E to A Major7. (- means minor)

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by Andy R

E F#- A B7 over and over, at the end of the chorus she plays a C#- instead of the F#- one time, the bridge is E to A Major7. (- means minor)

OMG, you are a GENIUS!!!!

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!

I've been sending her (Taylor Vick), her mother and her brother messages about the chords via youtube with no response at all for days now.

You're a sanity-saver!

[raito]

In the interest of helping you figure out more of these in the future (so you can post what you know instead of whatyou want)... (and it doesn't help that the video puts the mic stand right in front of her hands, so seeing the fingeing is rough).

That first chord is E, and you figured that out. That's good. That also makes it very likely (though not absolute) that the song is in E. That means that there is very likely a B or B7 in there, as it's V to E's I. That V (five) chord is usually in there somewhere (like songs in A almost always have E, for example).

And if the song is in E, then it'll also probably have A in it, as A is IV to E's I. A is the IV (four) chord in E.

So your song has the I, IV, and V (one, four and five) chords in it, which an awful lot of songs have.

But that'll still leave you scratching your head on that F#-. Well, that's the ii of E (lower case is minor here). Not as many songs include it, but a lot do. ii V I is a pretty common progression, because if you go up a fifth from V, you end up on ii. Of course, this song does not go ii V but ii IV, which is less common. But you know that that chord is in the key, so you can try it if you run into a chord that's not I, IV or V.

So, knowing that lots of songs contain I, IV and V, and having figured out that the song is probably in E, you could start in E and try those A and B chords at the changes (which I assume you can hear, as you got the first one). If it doesn't sound right, try the other chord. And if having the other parts of the chord is messing you up, just play the root notes along with the recording and try to figure out which ones make it fit.

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by raito

In the interest of helping you figure out more of these in the future (so you can post what you know instead of whatyou want)... (and it doesn't help that the video puts the mic stand right in front of her hands, so seeing the fingeing is rough).

That first chord is E, and you figured that out. That's good. That also makes it very likely (though not absolute) that the song is in E. That means that there is very likely a B or B7 in there, as it's V to E's I. That V (five) chord is usually in there somewhere (like songs in A almost always have E, for example).

And if the song is in E, then it'll also probably have A in it, as A is IV to E's I. A is the IV (four) chord in E.

So your song has the I, IV, and V (one, four and five) chords in it, which an awful lot of songs have.

But that'll still leave you scratching your head on that F#-. Well, that's the ii of E (lower case is minor here). Not as many songs include it, but a lot do. ii V I is a pretty common progression, because if you go up a fifth from V, you end up on ii. Of course, this song does not go ii V but ii IV, which is less common. But you know that that chord is in the key, so you can try it if you run into a chord that's not I, IV or V.

So, knowing that lots of songs contain I, IV and V, and having figured out that the song is probably in E, you could start in E and try those A and B chords at the changes (which I assume you can hear, as you got the first one). If it doesn't sound right, try the other chord. And if having the other parts of the chord is messing you up, just play the root notes along with the recording and try to figure out which ones make it fit.

Thank you Ratio! I hadn't even considered using the Circle of fifths to figure out the basic chords to the song. I just kept rewinding and trying to match each chord she played.
Yeah, it absolutely DID NOT help that the mic stand was RIGHT IN FRONT of her hand!

[raito]

You're welcome.

It was hard knowing just what level of theory you knew. I didn't want to sound like I was talking down, but then again, I wanted to be helpful.

Figuring out chords is the kind of thng you get better at as you do more of it, mostly because certain chords will change to certain other chords, but not those chords over there. So if you can catch one chord, it will frequently lead you to the others.

And if you listen to a particular genre of music more than others, you'll find that it uses certain changes more than some other genre might. For example, a lot of the American Popular Song-type songs use that ii V I. And it seems like most of the 50's used I vi IV V and modulated to the V key on the bridge.

And if you get good at it, you'll start hearing the sevenths and alterations and stuff. For now, if you and I get the basic tonality of the chords and the key, we're doing well.

It's always best to try to figure out the songs you like because it's motivating. But it's also useful to try to figure out stuff you don't like as much, because it's more likely to add to your knowledge.

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by raito

You're welcome.

It was hard knowing just what level of theory you knew. I didn't want to sound like I was talking down, but then again, I wanted to be helpful.

Figuring out chords is the kind of thng you get better at as you do more of it, mostly because certain chords will change to certain other chords, but not those chords over there. So if you can catch one chord, it will frequently lead you to the others.

And if you listen to a particular genre of music more than others, you'll find that it uses certain changes more than some other genre might. For example, a lot of the American Popular Song-type songs use that ii V I. And it seems like most of the 50's used I vi IV V and modulated to the V key on the bridge.

And if you get good at it, you'll start hearing the sevenths and alterations and stuff. For now, if you and I get the basic tonality of the chords and the key, we're doing well.

It's always best to try to figure out the songs you like because it's motivating. But it's also useful to try to figure out stuff you don't like as much, because it's more likely to add to your knowledge.

Very wise advice. Thank you for sharing your method and helping me to improve. I'm still at the level of only hearing the basic chords. I can't tell you the difference between an "E" and an "Em7" even though I can hear that the basic chord is an E...but the other is darker....sadder....if you know what I mean.

Well, now that I have the chords for this song I can start trying to figure out the lyrics...lol.

[raito]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

Very wise advice. Thank you for sharing your method and helping me to improve. I'm still at the level of only hearing the basic chords. I can't tell you the difference between an "E" and an "Em7" even though I can hear that the basic chord is an E...but the other is darker....sadder....if you know what I mean.

Well, now that I have the chords for this song I can start trying to figure out the lyrics...lol.

I know what you mean. And these days, that major or minor can get lost real easy. A lot of the time, it seems as though the third gets left out, and you have to figure out major or minor from everything else going on, or learn to hear that it's missing. One clue there can be that if you can figure out what the tonic of the chord is, and you know the key of the song, you can try whatever chord is made from the notes of the key. For example, in the key of A, you'll hear a chord that's on, say, F#. You know that's the 6th note of A, and building the chord from it using the other notes in A gives you A and C#. F# A C# is F# minor. Or you figure that the vi chord of a major scale is minor if it's made from the notes of that scale, and so you figure it's minor.

It does get a bit more interesting when the chords aren't built on the notes of the key, though. There's lots of examples where in a major key, that 7 diminished chord isn't used, and they bump the fifth of the chord up a semitone to make it minor. That'll sound fine depending on where the next chord goes, even though that fifth isn't in the key (as long as no one plays the unchanged fifth).

[sacizob]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

Well, now that I have the chords for this song I can start trying to figure out the lyrics...lol.

"Your on your own"

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by raito

I know what you mean. And these days, that major or minor can get lost real easy. A lot of the time, it seems as though the third gets left out, and you have to figure out major or minor from everything else going on, or learn to hear that it's missing. One clue there can be that if you can figure out what the tonic of the chord is, and you know the key of the song, you can try whatever chord is made from the notes of the key. For example, in the key of A, you'll hear a chord that's on, say, F#. You know that's the 6th note of A, and building the chord from it using the other notes in A gives you A and C#. F# A C# is F# minor. Or you figure that the vi chord of a major scale is minor if it's made from the notes of that scale, and so you figure it's minor.

It does get a bit more interesting when the chords aren't built on the notes of the key, though. There's lots of examples where in a major key, that 7 diminished chord isn't used, and they bump the fifth of the chord up a semitone to make it minor. That'll sound fine depending on where the next chord goes, even though that fifth isn't in the key (as long as no one plays the unchanged fifth).

WOOW! And to think that I was just fingering the chord and then adding in another finger or lifting in random spots to see how the chord changed...and if the result matched!

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by sacizob

"Your on your own"

lolol...
She does sing in a particularly "Different" manner....but that's why I love her.

Here's what Ive got so far...



The way your eyes sparkle
After you've been crying
Is a comforting
Sight

Speaking of eyes your
somethingsomething looks bigger (???)
Toniiiiiight

My nightmares
are really Fairy tales
In somebody elses
burrrrd (???)

Cross my heart
and hope to die
stick a neeeeedle
in my..

I don't wanna be without you
just for another moment honey

Sticky like honeeey
Sticky like honeeeeeey
Sticky liiiike honeeeeeeeeey


Lets make artificial niiiiiiiight
Strrafe our bodies with no white (???)

Lets make artificial niiiiiiiight
Trace our bodies with no light (???)

Honeeeeeey
My...honeeeeeeey
Like...honeeeeeey
My...honeeeeeeey

[Sharp5]

A couple of things to try:

Play the same chord progression in other keys.

Run the diatonic chords off of each note in a couple of different keys. Ex: Cmaj, Dm, Em, Fmaj, Gmaj, Am, Bdim, C. Follow this pattern per key.

This will help you get familiar with hearing functions and help you learn progressions without even having an instrument around.

As stated above most progressions have a 4th or 5th (how ever you want to look at it )movement.

iii - vi -ii - V - I
C: Em - Am -Dm - G - C

Then get into 7th's and other extensions. Change some to dominant etc.

[Thighbanez]

Um...whats a diatonic chord?

[BigDaddyLH]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

Um...whats a diatonic chord?

The chords that stay within the given key signature. So if you know the song is in G major (one sharp), you look at the chords in G as a pool of possibilities. Most pop/folk/rock songs don't wander from the key too much, and when they do the chord stands out -- this will be a clue to your ear!

[Joe-Bob]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

Um...whats a diatonic chord?

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLH

The chords that stay within the given key signature.

This is true of major keys but not of minor keys, because the key signature does not reflect the diatonic set in the minor mode.

[BigDaddyLH]

Originally Posted by Joe-Bob

This is true of major keys but not of minor keys, because the key signature does not reflect the diatonic set in the minor mode.

I give up and finesse minor keys. What do you consider the diatonic set for, say, E minor? I take the chords built from E natural minor and E harmonic minor, and probably E melodic minor to boot. Can't have too many!

[Sharp5]

What they said. There is tons of stuff on the internet about music theory. A lot of crap too I'm sure, but one can usually wade through it if you check different sources. All this stuff is at the tip of your fingers if you have the desire.

[Joe-Bob]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLH

I give up and finesse minor keys. What do you consider the diatonic set for, say, E minor? I take the chords built from E natural minor and E harmonic minor, and probably E melodic minor to boot. Can't have too many!

Well, sort of; there are far more chords available in minor.

But...the diatonic set for E minor is E, F#, G, A, B, C, D# and back to E. No, the D# is not in the key signature, but it's there nonetheless.

Now, it is very common to see the C-natural raised a half-step, and the D-sharp lowered a half-step. This does not mean there are three forms of minor.

That is a myth.

Rather what we see the composers use is the "diatonic" minor with the two aforementioned tendency tones. Plus, it's so much easier to remember that way.

BTW -- The reason it's not in the key signature was to avoid having two separate key signature systems; some of the minor keys would involve sharps and flats, and they wouldn't follow the same order as the major. We have to be smart enough to know that some things are "understood". Just as we understand that when a tenor in the choir reads from the treble clef, he actually sings an octave lower than that.

[65 Champ Amp]

Learning theory is a must, but it is a never ending lifetime study.

Shorcut to figuring out chords for songs : memorize relative minors. Every major chord has a relative minor. That minor chord can take the place of its relative major for coloring or to fit the melody. In your song, the f#m is the relative minor of A Major, and c#minor is the relative minor of EMajor. Notice how they share mostly the same notes. So, once you have memorized the I,IV and V chords in all keys(the IV is same fret,up one string, theV is up two frets,up one string -except between the g and b strings), you listen for what you described as a sadder or melancholy sound.That indicates a minor chord, so sub the relative minor of one of those 3 main chords-the I, IV, or the V.

So, learning the I,iV and V chords for all keys and the relative minors for each, will enable you to figure out most pop songs.
HTH

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLH

The chords that stay within the given key signature. So if you know the song is in G major (one sharp), you look at the chords in G as a pool of possibilities. Most pop/folk/rock songs don't wander from the key too much, and when they do the chord stands out -- this will be a clue to your ear!

Ah okay, so the diatonic chords in G would be the C & D...correct?