How to convert a song to chords
Kevin Hui
Hi,
I like playing guitar but I don't know the "magic" of music - how can I
convert a song's melody into chords?
1. Any books (simple ones) I can learn from?
2. Is there any software that does the "melody-to-chords" conversion?
Any help is highly appreciated, thanks.
Kevin.
wjg49
>
> I like playing guitar but I don't know the "magic" of music - how can I
> convert a song's melody into chords?
You learn by doing. Usually the notes of the melody are contained
in the chords that accompany it. For example, if you are singing an A,
a chord containing A is indicated within the context of what preceded
and what follows that note. So you may play an A, Am, D, F, Bm7 . . .
.you get the idea.
Start with a song with a simple melody, strum a chord and hum the
melody in the register that seems to fit with that chord. When a change
seems indicated, look at the note you're singing and try the chords that
contain it. Select the one that sounds the best. Keep doing this and it
will get easier as you go.
Rusty Wilson
> I like playing guitar but I don't know the "magic" of music - how can I
> convert a song's melody into chords?
>
Kevin,
There's no secret or shortcut, but there is a way, and for most popular
songs, it's pretty simple. Somebody was kind enough to post the following
sometime back, so I thought I'd pass it along to you...it's not the best
written piece of information I've seen, but I think it may help. Have
fun!
Rusty
...how to "ear" out a song. All I can give you are the basics. You do
need to know chords of many kinds to figure out some songs.
STEP 1
Listen to the song about 2 or 3 times and while figuring the song out,
keep refering to the tape.
STEP 2
Find the bass note of the particular chord you are looking for. You can
find the pitch of the bass note simply by walking up and down the E and A
string until you have it.
STEP 3
After finding the bass note, it is all just a matter of trying out
different chords to fit that note. For example if the bass note is a B,
then play a B chord. If that doesn't sound right, try a Bm, Bm7, Bmaj7,
Bsus, B2....... until you have found a chord that sounds like it is it.
STEP 4 (not always applied)
If you are sure you have found the right sounding chord but it is still
not right sounding. Try moving the chord into different positions. For
most of the rock songs being requested, it is simply a matter of a power
chord being moved around.
THE LOW-DOWN
The key to figuring out a song is finding the bass note and working from
there.
When I first started playing guitar I was ultimately frustrated that I
couldn't play the songs that I heard on the radio unless someone showed me
how. This was pretty tough, seeing as this was before the days of the
Internet and guitar publications and because I was raised by a pack of
roaming wolves who were completely tone deaf.
Then out of desperation I sat down with a tune that I knew pretty well,
but didn't know how to play (I think it was an REO Speedwagon tune.) I
fiddled around and poked and experimented and finally after three days of
trying...got it completely wrong.
But the silver lining to my otherwise gray cloud was that I figured out
what it takes to pick up tunes by ear. It just takes time. The more you
try to pick out tunes by ear, the better you get. I promise.
Chords
So how do you do it? Well, I first listen closely a few times to the CD
and get the general feel for the song, the layout, the sections, the
different instruments etc. Then I sit down with my guitar and pick out the
bass line, or even just the bass notes to the chord changes. This may take
a while if the bass is tough to hear. Sometimes headphones help. The thing
about bass notes is that there are no majors, minors, sevenths,
suspensions or anything like that
to confuse you when you're just getting started. I just start at the open
E and continue up and down the string trying each note until one fits. I
usually try the common keys (E, A, D, C & G) first. Then I restart the CD
and narrow it down even more, until I have the first note, then the
second, then the third. This process usually drives my wife crazy because
she has now heard the first part of this song 14 times. So you might want
to consider headphones.
So once I have the bass notes I play along with the CD and just play the
bass notes. I'll also try experimenting with other notes in case I am not
sure of some of the notes. I often pick out a note a fifth up from the
actual bass note and think it's right...until I poke around a bit more and
play the right one.
With bass notes...you'll know it when it's right.
So now I have the chord changes. Now comes the easy part. If your tune is
a contemporary rock tune then most likely the chords for those bass notes
are either major or minor. Admittedly it is the minority of bands that
employs a more intricate chord selection than these few. Be careful of
bands like STP who use very creative chords.
So now I just try adding in major chords to each of the bass notes that I
had previously figured out. Certain ones will fit, others won't. For those
that don't, try playing a minor chord and see if it fits better, sometimes
the difference is subtle...try them both anyway.
There are times in songs when you hear a guitar chord change but the bass
doesn't. In this case the chords may be suspended chords that resolve to
the bass note chord. These are tremendously common in rock guitar. They
usually will be a suspended 2 or 4 chord. You can learn to recognize these
by the lack of a bass note change. The alternate to that is when the bass
note changes and
the chord doesn't seem to change. This could be a mistake by the bass
player, ....uh...just kidding...more likely is a chord with an altered
bass note. Like playing a C major then a C/B to an Am7. The C major sounds
the same troughout but the bass line descends.
Listen closely for notes that ring throughout chord changes. Finding a
common tone between two chords might help you find the chord type and
fingering. Usually open strings sound different and are easy to pick out.
Certain chord progressions have common notes. An example is a Dsus2 (or D9
or Dadd9) to E to F#m7 progression. The common note is E. (This is the
chord progression to "Hey Jealousy" by Gin Blossoms).
It also helps to know a bit about the band. Does the guitarist tune up or
down, or to a different key, or use a capo? Are there certain chord
fingerings that they use often? By the way don't try to pick out any
Michael Hedges tunes until you get real good.
For more complicated tunes and tunes with lots of chord changes you'll
have to just keep working and listening very closely for the subtleties.
Melody
By now you may very likely have the chords to the tune all figured out.
But now there may be a melody to figure out too. The trick to melodies is
to get the first note. After that it gets easier. Pick out the first note
of the melody just like you did the bass line. Pick a note on your guitar
and figure out if it is higher or lower than the first note of the melody.
Or maybe another salient note in the melody is easier.
The chords will tell you what key you're in. From there you can play
around in the major or minor scale in that key and find the notes that
fit. Listen to the character of the string used to get the fingering. The
same pitch will sound brighter if played on the higher strings at a lower
fret as opposed to a lower string at a higher fret.
Solo
This works the same again for solos. Once you know the chords noodle
around with the appropriate pentatonic scale until you get the general
feel for the solo. Start with the root note (high or low) and proceed from
there. If the guitarist uses scales more interesting than the pentatonic
(hopefully) then try the major or minor scale for starters.
Don't get too hung up on scales though. There is nothing that says that
the notes in the solo have to be in a particular scale...this is art and
the rules are meant to be broken.
After a while of doing this with a number of different songs you will get
to the point where you can play a chord progression and melody on your
first or second try (really, you will). At first you may get a few of the
notes wrong, but as you continue to play the tune you will make
improvements to your transcription and to your ear in general.
Try picking out a song in your head. Play the Star Spangled Banner from
memory, or Pomp and Circumstance, or Mary had a Little Lamb, or Little
Drummer Boy. It is very useful to be able to play a melody that you hear
in your head. Don't worry about what note to start on or what scale to
use. If you are playing from
memory it doesn't matter, just play the notes you hear in your head and
fiddle around until you get the melody right.
Remember that, as in life, learning music is pyramidal. Everything builds
on top of what has been previously learned. A solid foundation is
essential to proper progress...and that takes time. Be patient, yet
persistent. Push yourself, and reward yourself for all successes.
Figuring out tunes on your own is very rewarding. If you can't seem to get
the tune down one day, try again another day. Keep working at it, and soon
you will be posting tunes to this newsgroup.
Rusty Wilson
You Can Play Guitar Videos
wjg49
Debra Cooper wrote:
>
> > Start with a song with a simple melody, strum a chord and hum the
> > melody in the register that seems to fit with that chord. When a change
> > seems indicated, look at the note you're singing and try the chords that
> > contain it.
>
> Oh, ouch, don't do that. Some of the chords containing that note may
> be from different keys,
So what? Excuse me, young lady, but you're trying to give this kid
a compressed theory course before he can pick up his guitar. What sounds
good is more important than how the numbers lay out. He can get that
later, after he learns that playing is fun, not quantum mechanics.
He will learn to "hear" the chords behind the melody after he has
done it wrong a few times. He will start to feel the intervals before
he is cognizant of what they are.
I've often felt that we teach music backwards, making the students
into reading robots and hoping musicianship will follow. It makes more
sense to make a musician first, then allow him to codify what he now
does intuitively.
I imagine I'll be hearing from one or two people on this. Let the
games begin.
Roy Williamson
In article <5t4bau$k4m$1...@client3.news.psi.net>, Debra Cooper <barrold@sh
ikahr.com.inter.net> writes
<snip>
>chord for special emotional effects. (I don't think the 3 chord sounds
>right in a key under ANY circumstances.)
Oh, I dunno .... I think C E Am F is a pretty nice sequence. It's
used in a couple of songs I've tabbed.
Cheers,
--
Old Father Time (r...@cdvdc.demon.co.uk)
"People in glass houses seldom throw parties..."
-David Devant and his Spirit Wife - "Miscellaneous"
Sacha Mallais
On Sat, 16 Aug 1997, wjg49 wrote:
> I've often felt that we teach music backwards, making the students
> into reading robots and hoping musicianship will follow. It makes more
> sense to make a musician first, then allow him to codify what he now
> does intuitively.
I completely agree, but as a person who has learned the intuitive way, it
_is_ difficult to go back to basics and try to learn to read or learn the
theory when just playing is soooo much more fun. I don't know, but maybe
learning to read (and understand) music is similar to learning to read a
language... its easier when the subject is new and exciting (I suppose
that should be when you're young, not when the subject is new, but it
seems to make sense to me).
> I imagine I'll be hearing from one or two people on this. Let the
> games begin.
:-)
sacha
Sacha Michel Mallais sa...@global-village.net
Global Village Consulting Inc. http://www.global-village.net/sacha
There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause comedy in the streets?
-- Dick Cavett, mocking the TV-violence debate
Debra Cooper
On Wed, 13 Aug 1997, wjg49 wrote:
> >
> > I like playing guitar but I don't know the "magic" of music - how can I
> > convert a song's melody into chords?
>
>
> You learn by doing. Usually the notes of the melody are contained
> in the chords that accompany it. For example, if you are singing an A,
> a chord containing A is indicated within the context of what preceded
> and what follows that note. So you may play an A, Am, D, F, Bm7 . . .
> .you get the idea.
> Start with a song with a simple melody, strum a chord and hum the
> melody in the register that seems to fit with that chord. When a change
> seems indicated, look at the note you're singing and try the chords that
> contain it.
Oh, ouch, don't do that. Some of the chords containing that note may
be from different keys, and if you try chords from different keys, one
after the other, it's like having to shift gears in your head, over and
over again.
The far easier task is to take a set of chords from a given key,
arrange them in an order that sounds pleasing, and then make up a
melody to go over that.
If you're starting with the melody, though, probably of some song you
already know, your mind may be able to "hear" the chords behind it. My
mind takes chords that are "blocked", that is, all the notes played at
once, and automatically breaks the notes apart so they're heard one
after the other. I hear the "broken" chord in my head, then I can play
it on a piano or something, and write it down.
(This is a little easier to do on a piano, where the notes are somewhat
regularly positioned -- unless you know your fretboard dead-on.)
There is another way that is somewhat more constructionistic but likely
to work even if you can't break the chord into its component notes in
your head. This can be done on a piano too. First, pick out the melody
on the keyboard, then look and see which notes were sharped or flatted.
Then check out your key signatures for the key that has these sharps or
flats, and select your chords from the chords in that key.
So what are the chords in a given key? Artists like to play around with
this, and break the rules quite often. But generally, for the ordinary
type song that our ears have grown accustomed to over the years, the
key will contain the major of the 1, 4, and 5 chord of that keyname,
maybe the minor of the 6 chord, and sometimes the major of a 2 or 7
chord for special emotional effects. (I don't think the 3 chord sounds
right in a key under ANY circumstances.)
AND, of THOSE major and minor chords, sometimes there will be sundry
sevenths, dims, sus4s, and so on.... again, for special effects. (A
sus4 is a transitional chord.) Stick to simple songs at first.
So what do I mean the major of the 1, 4, and 5 chord, etc.? Starting
with the key of C, which has no sharps or flats,
key of C (no sharps) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Chords: C D x F G Am Bb
^ ^ ^
Thusly, you will likely find C, F, and G chords in the key of C. If
your melody has no sharps or flats, TRY THESE CHORDS FIRST.
You can do this for each key, for example, the key of G, which has one
sharp,
key of G (F#) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Chords: G A x C D Em F
^ ^ ^
You will likely find G, C, and D chords in a song in this key.
If you write down a table like this for every key, then you can easily
guess the CHORDS in the song from the sharps and flats that are in the
MELODY. After awhile, you start to get used to which chords you will
find together in a song.
The number of frets between the chords I've listed in these tables is
the same for every table. Like, from C to F is 5 frets, two more gives
G. And from G to C is also 5 frets, two more gives D. (Look at your
barred chords.) But if you can't figure out the pattern, email me and
I'll send you one for all the major keys. There aren't many.
By the way, this makes transposing a song in your head really easy.
Especially a rock or blues that has only 3 or 4 chords in it.
Please note, this is only a general guide. Some songs have special
effects. "If", by Bread, when played in the key of C, contains also
Fm, Dm, and Gm. But then, "If" isn't "Red River Valley". :-)
However, if you can hear the broken chord in your head, you can still
do it even if the chord isn't in the table. Maybe this is magic, but
try it anyway...
Ted Boucher
In article <5sm2f4$2o$1...@news.eng.octel.com> Kevin Hui,
kevi...@octel.com writes:
>Subject: How to convert a song to chords
>From: Kevin Hui, kevi...@octel.com
>Date: Mon, 11 Aug 1997 18:53:24 GMT
>>Hi,
>
>I like playing guitar but I don't know the "magic" of music - how can I
>convert a song's melody into chords?
>
>
>2. Is there any software that does the "melody-to-chords" conversion?
>
>
>
Lot's of people will reply to this, but it is a lot more complicated that
it seems, so I figure I ought to add my two cents--
Before we start, let me ask, do you want to play "chord melody", if you
do, you need to study with a guitarist who plays chord melody, and
ignore these answers that you get here.
First, know your melody! Most of the time, problems in figuring out
chords comes from getting the melody notes wrong, leaving out part of it,
parts of th melody in the wrong key, pick-up notes that are harmonies
rather than the actual notes and lead you out of the key,
Second, remember that most popular, rock, blues and folk songs follow
pretty standard chord progressions-- A/D/E/D, which is used in La Bamba,
is also Twist and Shout, and dozens of other tunes. C/Am/Dm/G7 in one
rhythm or another, is the heart of almost every doo-wop ballad, and a
whole bunch of standards and, if you know the circle of fourths, you've
got most of the other standards pretty well covered.
Third, remember,songs tend to be 8,12, 16, and 32 measures long. The
melodic phrases tend to be 2 or 4 measures, and they tend to be made up
of chord progressions that are 2 or 4 measures long, as well. There are
quite a few songs that you'll have down with just two or four measures.
Break all the rest of them down into two and then four measure
phrases--most of them will be AABA(four measures, repeated twice, bridge,
with a different four measures, and then the first four measures again)
Fourth, chords changes, when you are playing rhythm guitar, have to
follow the beat more than the melody, so you generally shouldn't change
more than twice a measure--this means that you should choose chords based
on the melody notes on the strong beats (1 and 3)
Fifth ,Know how hard your song is before you start working on it--even
beginners can figure out the chords to a simple song, like Iko,Iko, but
even pretty experienced guitarists will have a bit of trouble with
something like Quiet Night of Quiet Stars or Polka Dots and Moonbeams
(the "coolest" music is often not the most difficult to play)
Here is a general Idea how to gauge stuff, from easiest to hardest-
New Orleans Style rock and jazz stuff-- often only has two or three
chords, Blues, Early Rock'n Roll. Rockabilly--generally use the standard
12-bar blues progression, but with different beats,
Country and Western Tunes,Folk songs and Hymns--often have chord
progression with 3 or 4 major or minor and major chords, but more chord
changes because the melody is more elaborate,
60's,70's 80's,90's rock--Often have somewhat more elaborate chord
structures,may include several basic progressions
R&B,Funk, etc. May be deceptively simple, with 1 or two chords, but with
a repeating bass figure or rhythmic lick that requires a special feel
Standards, up through the 40's, generally have circle of 4ths based
melodies with AABA structure
Standards from the 50's, Jazz compositions, and Bossa Novas,often have
melodies with a chromatic notes on strong beats that only occur in
altered chords or chords out of the circle of 4ths
Composed pieces that have been written using classical ideas about the
development of themes using melodic variations and arrangements with
multiple parts and orchestral voicings are generally too complex to work
out by ear with any degree of accuracy.
It really isn't so much actually finding chords that harmonize with the
melody (although you do a fair amount of this) as it is recognizing what
you already know from somewhere else.
Most everybody who has a good ear also learned to play a lot of basic
stuff by rote, then built on that. Don't hesitate to download as much
stuff as you can, just to play through the chords so you see how they fit
together, and it never hurts to get as many songbooks as you can--
Also, when you cant figure something out, look it up, if you can't find
it, ask someone to post it..Invariably, after you work it out, it will
turn out to be a lot easier than you thought it was..
Ted