Found this song, and it's absolutely heart-breaking :cry: I would love to play it, but it just doesn't sound right. Could anyone transpose these horrendous chords into something more playable?
D C#m
Suitcase packed with all his things
Bm A
Car pulls up, the doorbell rings
G
He don't want to go
A
He thought he'd found his home
D C#m
But with circumstances he can't change
Bm A
Waves goodbye as they pull away
G
From the life he's known
A --
For the last seven months or so
G --
She said we found the man who looks like you
F# --
Who cried and said he never knew
Bm D A
About the boy in pictures that we showed him
G --
A rambler in his younger days
F# --
He knew he made a few mistakes
Bm D
But he swore he would have been there
A
Had he known it
Em F# G A D-intro
Son we think we found your dad in Oklahoma
D C#m
A million thoughts raced through his mind
Bm A G
What's his name, what's he like and will he be
A
Anything like the man in his dreams
D C#m
She could see the questions in his eyes
Bm A
Whispered "don't be scared my child
G A --
I'll let you know, what we know
G --
About the man we found, he looks like you
F# --
And cried and said he never knew
Bm D A
About the boy in pictures that we showed him
G F#
A rambler in his younger days He knew he'd made a few mistakes
Bm D A
But he swore he would've been there Had he known it
Em F# G
You always said that this was something that you wanted
Em F# G A D
Son it's time to meet your Dad in Oklahoma
Em --
One last turn he held his breath
Bm --
'Til they reached the fifth house on the left
G D A
And all at once the tears came rolling in
Em --
And as they pulled into the drive
Bm --
A man was waiting there outside
G D A
Who wiped the worry from his eyes Smiled and took his hand
G --
And he said I'm the man who looks like you
F# --
Who cried because I never knew
Bm D A
About that boy in pictures that they showed me
G -- F# --
A rambler in my younger days I knew I made a few mistakes
Bm D A
But I swear I would have been there had I known it
Em F# G
Never again will you ever be alone
Em F# G D
Son welcome to your home in Oklahoma
Repeat intro to end
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
You're basically in the key of D here, but substituting a major chord for the third, and a minor chord for the seventh:
D = I
Em = ii
F# = III
G = IV
A = V
Bm = vi
C#m = vii
So your easiest choice is C:
I = C
ii = Dm
III = E
IV = F
V = G
vi = Am
vii = Bm
Just substitue each chord and see how it works.
Just figure out what key works best for you, and substitute. If you go with C, the first line works out to C-Dm; if you go with G it ends up being G-Am.
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Thanks noteboat.....I'm not very good with theory, so just trying to get my head round it :?
I don't know if you've heard this song (it's downloadable for free from Limewire), but I think I'm finding it easier in the key of F - just can't work out what the next chord would be :? But starting in F instead of D seems to work.. could you be kind enough to transpose it into F for me... sorry for being such a pain
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
I = F
ii = Gm
III = A
IV = Bb
V = C
vi = Dm
vii = Em
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Hey thanks Greybeard - It seems to be working! I'm gonna practice it and see how it goes.
Thanks Guys! :D
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
Transposing a song is not necessarily about making the song easier to play, but often about making the song more suited to your vocal range. A good example of a song I transposed is the Eagle's "Hotel California". I can't hit those high notes like Don Henly, but by lowering the key the song is much more suited to my singing ability (inability more like). Thinking of chord progessions as numbered (ie I IV V) makes transposing a snap.
PK
Capos work nicely also. You can still play the "basic" chord shapes and you would only need to figure out which fret you would move the Capo to.
So if the "original" started with a D chord and you played it in the standard open position.
To change that chord to an F , but still play the same fingering you would place a Capo on the 3rd fret. All of the other chords will "change key" or transpose themselves but the fingerings would remain the same as if you playing in the standard open tuning.
Man...I feel like I am confusing myself.
Yea, capo was my first thought, too.
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I know what you mean guys, but the capo would make it higher. This song is originally done by a ten-year-old boy, so the original chords for the song (D, C#m) are way too high (and too hard to play) for me, unless I either wear very tight underwear or regress back to my preteen days - both of which scare me! It's a beautiful song, and very sad, and I would love to pull it off, but alas, I'm struggling with it (both in the singing and the playing). Can't seem to find a way to make it fit..... :cry:
Never assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.
...but the notes 'wrap around' for want of a better word. If you capo at the 10th fret and play the same chords shapes, you're playing in the key of C. It might be a higher pitch for the guitar, but you don't have to shift your voice up 10 frets-worth from D to fit - you can shift it down 2 instead.
