Chords for another day

[Mattg]

This is on the Traveller album. I can easily play the solo notes but the chords are mystifying. Typical Tim O'Brien, sounds simple but it's not. If feels like the key of F because of the way the solo melody plays but starts in Dm. My chord choices then would be F Gm Am Bb C Dm and Ewhatever.

I think the verse starts with

Dm C Dm F C Gm ... then I lose it
the Chorus starts with

F C F then I loose it again.

[minnedolin]

Hey Matt.. Good song, good song--great song actually, whew. That sounds about right, I asked about some chords for some Tim stuff on Tim's webpage forum, and some nice fella sent me his interpretetions of some of his stuff, including Another Day and it sounds about right, but I'll throw in any chords when I get a chance to grab my songs binder...:D

[Jim Broyles]

Intro:

Dm Am Dm F Am C Gm F/A Bb Dm Am Dm (Repeat)
C Dm C Dm
Verse:
Dm Am Dm F C F Gm Bb C Dm Am Dm
Dm Am Dm F C F Gm Bb C Dm Am Dm Dm C Am Dm C
F C F Gm F/A Bb C Dm Am Dm Dm C Am Dm
Interlude:
F C Gm F/A Bb C Dm C Am Dm Dm Am Dm F C Gm Bb Dm Am Dm
Next verse


There's some extra embellishments on some of the chords especially at the end of phrases where it shows a Dm - you sort of hammer on a C note and that type of thing.

[Mattg]

Thanks a million jbmando. I really appreciate it.
I'll give it a try.

[man dough nollij]

Noob question: if you have tab for the melody, can you interpolate the chords?

For instance, if the melody notes in a measure correspond to a certain chord, will that chord fit for rhythm? For a very simple example, say a measure has G,D, and B in it, would a G chord fit?

I'm very new to this type of thing, and still pretty mystified by the thought processes that go into figuring out new tunes. Sometimes I can even do it through dumb luck, but it's all by feeling my way around the notes, not by thinking about it.

Plus, my brain is frozen. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[Jim Broyles]

Sure, but sometimes a melody note will be a passing tone so it might not have to appear in the chord underneath it. For example, singing a D note as part of a melody over a C major chord would technically make it a Cadd9, or a C2, but the chord can still be a straight C major. Usually though, a melody note is in the chord which is played under it.
If you had that G, D and B in a measure, a G chord might fit. Could also be an Em chord or three different chords, each of which contains one of those notes, such as G D Bm, or Em G Bm, or any other combo with the right notes in it. You have to play it an see how it sounds. A lot depends on the flavor of the song, whether it's a minor or major mood and things like that. When I can't hear a chord for sure, but I have the melody note, I play every chord I can think of which has that note in it. I'll hit the right one eventually.

[Mattg]

I didn't have the tab for the melody. I figured it out by ear. It was much easier to me than the chords. The key to figuring out a melody is to try to nail the key first. The notes for the melody fall within the key.

[Jim Broyles]

Whatever works for ya, Matt. I can usually figure out a key within the first 20 seconds of listening to a song. The melody just sort of comes to me, but in all honesty, I don't check to see if a melody note is a scalar tone of the key I determine a song to be written in. I just assume it will be. If I come across a non-scalar note in a melody, it's a tip-off to me that something other than standard changes is going on. Something like a flat 7 chord or a diminished chord.

[Mattg]

If a song is a 1 4 5 type, the key comes quick. It usually takes me longer on a more complex song like Another Day. Starting on a chord other than 1 usually throws me a bit. I also have problems picking the tune around the half step so knowing the key helps with that alot. Of course a blues tune with lots of half steps and bigger gaps is another matter all togather. The more new songs I attempt to play, the better my ear gets.

My son will go with me to BG and folk jams and he usually can determine the key before the first verse is done if the leader didn't already tell us. He has a much better ear ( and better hearing).