Chord Help with this Song Please....

[Nalapombu]

Hey all,

I am just getting back into MANDO after a LONG time off. I was never very good to start with, but I liked it and now I miss it. So I thought I'd get out my mando and play around with some of the simple songs and the tabs that I got when taking lessons many years ago. As for chords, I only knew the BASIC ones, chop chords. No theory, no fiuring out what chords for this song, keys to play in or any of that stuff. That's WAY over my head. Maybe it won't be in the future but it is now.

Anyway, one of my very favorite songs that my teacher and his band used to play and that I would request when I seen the in concert is the old John Prine song, PARADISE. What an awesome song. Anyway, I was thinking about that song today and wondered what it would be like to play along with it while the song was playing. I've never done that before. I go to YouTube and start listening and trying some of the basic chords I know and none of them sound good at all. I am talking about the BASIC G, C, D, A, E and F. I don't know if they are major, minor or what. None of them were right, at least to my ear.
I looked up the song and found where it is listed as having the chords C,F and G. Here's the link. This is GUITAR chords.
http://www.cowboylyrics.com/tabs/pri...dise-2710.html

I tried those chords and like I said, they sound terrible. Can you all tell me what chords I would play on a mando to accompany this song? Would I also use the C,F and G chords?

As an example the C Chord I know is in 2 different positions, 1 is a 2 finger 1st finger on A at the 3rd fret and 2nd finger at the D at the 2nd. The next C is just like it except the G string is also fretted at 5th fret and the E string isn't played at all.
The F I have is just 1, the A and D strings both fretted at 2nd fret. The G, I have 3 of those. The first is a 2 finger E at 3 and A at 2, the next is the same but add the D string at 5 and the last one is the one that my teacher called the BIG G, it is the same as the previous but add the G string fretted at the 7th string.

Those are the chords I know for this song.

Can you help me figure this out? I know it ain't much, but I'd like to strum along with the song and learn how to do that kind of stuff. If I would ever hope to play with anyone I'd have to know how to do this stuff. When someone tells me "to play this song all you need to do is use the C and A chords." Or whatever they may be. I'll have to know where on the neck the proper C and A chords are to play cause the C and A that I know, the simple ones, won't work for every song that calls for a C and an A.
I hope you understand what I am trying to explain. I am trying the best what I know to explain it as I am not knowledgeable at all about this technical stuff.

What chords and where do I need to play to accompany this song?

Thank you for your time and help.

Nalajr

[Phil Goodson]

You've got the wrong configuration for the F chord. Try 3rd fret on D string and 5th fret on G string. Don't play E string.

[UsuallyPickin]

Those are the correct chords for playing that song in the key of C. Download a chord chart from the internet. Here's one and check your chord forms.
http://http://www.tidyform.com/downl...d-chart-2.html

R/

[Chris W.]

I just listened to the album version on youtube and it is in the key of D. The chords you have are for the key of C.

Try D G and A

2002, 0023, 2200

[Marvino]

For accompanying youself, I would forget the chop chords. I am trying to get away from chop chords myself. I have had many chord books. The one attached in photo is the best one I have found for old time ringing chords. I really like it.

[jefflester]

I just listened to the album version on youtube and it is in the key of D. The chords you have are for the key of C.

Try D G and A

2002, 0023, 2200

Same as this youtube clip

[bigskygirl]

Yes, I strummed along in D and it sounded good with the open chords.

[jefflester]

When someone tells me "to play this song all you need to do is use the C and A chords." Or whatever they may be. I'll have to know where on the neck the proper C and A chords are to play cause the C and A that I know, the simple ones, won't work for every song that calls for a C and an A.

No, they absolutely will. There can certainly be debates about whether open chords or chop chords should be used for a particular song or a particular style of music, but an "A" chord is still an "A" chord and a "C" chord is still a "C" chord. It's just that in this case the chords you found were one full step (C vs D) different from the recorded version.

[Nalapombu]

Hey all,

Here is the YouTube for the song. It starts at about 1:50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHHR_tA7eg4

When I go look at that page listed above at the chords...the ones at the top, the MAJOR chords, are pretty much like the ones I have in my lesson book and that I practiced many years ago. The rest of them, I don't have a clue what those are and what the 7ths or minor 7ths mean.
Here is the correct address for the link posted above....http://www.tidyform.com/download/man...d-chart-2.html

Then when i use the Mandolin Cafe app and go to the Chord Finder, put the slider on MAJ and choose D. The chord diagram that comes up is NOT like the one shown in that PDF link listed above. The D in that PDF is 2 finger, like I have on my lessons, on the E and G strings at the 2nd fret. But the D on that APP is shown as E string on 2nd, A string on 5th, D string on 4th, and the G string on 7th. You can swipe the chord diagram in the app and it will show alternatives and there are 2. One of them is the SAME 2 finger D chord I listed above. The last of the 3 is different too....X on the E string, A string at 5, D string at 4 and G string at 2.

See what I mean? How can a novice learn this stuff when there are chord charts that list DIFFERENT finger placings for the SAME CHORD? This app lists 3 different D chords in MAJOR. The 3 position and 4 finger position diagrams are not even close. I haven't tried to play them to see how they differ, but I will.

I just don't get it. This is really confusing.

Can anyone explain it in SIMPLE ENGLISH to me? Pretend you are explaining it to an 8 year old....that might help ME....

Thanks all for the help.

nalajr

[bigskygirl]

Respectfully I would suggest you take a few lessons that will help you sort this all out. There are lots of videos on Youtube that can explain things. And a few lessons will get you going on music theory which covers keys and associated chords.

I looked at the video and its hard to see but the guitar on the right appears to be capo'd at 2 and played out of C position. That means that the chord is actually sounding in D. The link you provided for the lyrics is indeed the the key of C. Then, I looked here http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic...482&ref=google and found out the song was originally published in D.

What does that all mean...in songs with words the key is generally whatever the singer wants it to be. John Prine decided that D was a good key for his voice, the guy that posted the lyrics and chords likes it in C.

Again, lessons will help sort all this out and it is a good song to strum along with.

Wanted to add that Don Julin has a couple of books Mandolin For Dummies and Mandolin Exercises for Dummies, I've not seen them but lots of people here like them and they would probably provide you a nice start to learning theory.

[jefflester]

See what I mean? How can a novice learn this stuff when there are chord charts that list DIFFERENT finger placings for the SAME CHORD? This app lists 3 different D chords in MAJOR. The 3 position and 4 finger position diagrams are not even close. I haven't tried to play them to see how they differ, but I will.

I just don't get it. This is really confusing.

Can anyone explain it in SIMPLE ENGLISH to me? Pretend you are explaining it to an 8 year old....that might help ME....

The first two responses in your other topic explained it pretty well.
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...Explain-please

A chord is 3 notes, so you can play the same chord different ways with different notes on different strings to get the same combination. Those different combinations might sound a little different, but they are still the same chord. In the case of this song, since it is not bluegrass and you don't need to chop, you'll do just fine with the open versions of the chords as presented by Chris W. (D, G, A)

[Phil Goodson]

...., I don't have a clue what those are and what the 7ths or minor 7ths mean....
Can anyone explain it in SIMPLE ENGLISH to me? Pretend you are explaining it to an 8 year old....that might help ME.......nalajr

When you play a song and someone says it's in G, you'll be using G, C & D chords most of the time. Key of C will use C, F, & G. Key of D will use D, G, A. Key of A will use A, D, and E. And so on.

At the beginner level,
If you look up the chords to a song on a website, ignore the numbers on the chords.
If a chord is shown as Am7, just play Am. For G7, just play G, etc. It rarely gets more complicated than that for Bluegrass or Rock & Roll.

ANY fingering of the chord will work. Any G chord is a G chord. You can experiment to see if one fingering sounds better to you than another, or if one fingering is easier for you. ANY fingering for that chord will work. Some might sound better.

Your rhythm as you strum will make more difference than the chord shape you select.
Did I leave out anything?

[Rodney Riley]

I think OP has the same trouble as I have/had . Why is it, say a "C" chord at 0-2-3-0 and 0-2-3-3 and 5-2-3-3and 0-5-3-0 and 5-5-7-8 are all called a "C" chord? Found this site that tells me they are a combination of C, E and G notes. Just like jefflester explained."A chord is 3 notes, so you can play the same chord different ways with different notes on different strings to get the same combination. Those different combinations might sound a little different, but they are still the same chord."(... as C is the root of three notes that make a chord...etc. etc. ) Too complex for instruction here. A little help to get started; Under the "Chord Reference" heading, click for Mandolin/Bouzouki. Chord name above the fret board. (click on chord you want) Fret number below. (to move up the fret board) Click on the smaller chord diagram that appears below the fret number boxes and it will appear on the fret board with what notes are being played. Hope it helps. http://www.musicopedia.com/index.php

[Mandoplumb]

It is pretty obvious that OP is a beginner and that's alright we all were at one time. The question I have after he said he tried all chords and they all sounded awful is he on tune with the recording he is playing with.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Nalapombu,
It may take you some time, but if you stick with it, eventually you will get those chords ironed out.
Then comes the real challenge with that song...the timing and phrasing.
I've heard it done a lot of ways and I don't think any two people do it the same.
Even John Prine doesn't do it like John Prine.