Chords In Memory?

VegasGeorge · Sep 15, 2014

I have long known my Major, Minor, Dominant 7, and Minor 7 chords by memory, plus a scattering of others such as which frets the more common dim chords fall on. But that's as far as I've ever gone trying to memorize chords. I have a lot of tunes under my fingers which utilize other chords, but I play them from muscle memory, not knowing exactly what they are. When playing a new tune, I keep a chord dictionary handy to look up the ones I don't know off hand. Is that about "normal?" Or, do many of you experienced players have a lot more chords memorized? Just wondering.

sukie · Sep 15, 2014

I've been playing 6 1/2 years. I still need to learn new chords.

PhilUSAFRet · Sep 15, 2014

The older I get, the harder it is to remember anything, including chords and lyrics.

SailQwest · Sep 15, 2014

I have most of the basics memorized, but still encounter unfamiliar chords occasionally.

Key for me is knowing how chords are built. If I encounter a new chord, I can figure out the notes and fingerings fairly quickly.

Down Up Dick · Sep 15, 2014

I've memorized all the ones I need to play the kind of music I like to play. I wondered too if everyone else sat and memorized chords and chord families the way I did. I think, perhaps, it would be better to memorize the chords one needs along with the new songs. Learning them all seems like a waste of effort. Especially those of us with old brains.

ld:

Rllink · Sep 15, 2014

Down Up Dick said:
I've memorized all the ones I need to play the kind of music I like to play. I wondered too if everyone else sat and memorized chords and chord families the way I did. I think, perhaps, it would be better to memorize the chords one needs along with the new songs. Learning them all seems like a waste of effort. Especially those of us with old brains. ld:

I'm not "experienced" that is for sure, but I know a lot of chords. But I agree with you Dick, I don't spend a lot of time on stuff that I'm not going to use. I don't learn and memorize chords just to memorize and learn chords. To me, ukulele is about music, so my approach has been to learn by playing music.

wrestlingmatt51 · Sep 15, 2014

There are more chords that could be useful to add to that list such as suspended chords but if you were to memorize more, it might be better to learn different ways to play the chords you already know higher up the fretboard rather than entirely new ones. Or maybe not.

Rllink · Sep 15, 2014

wrestlingmatt51 said:
There are more chords that could be useful to add to that list such as suspended chords but if you were to memorize more, it might be better to learn different ways to play the chords you already know higher up the fretboard rather than entirely new ones. Or maybe not.

I'm with you on the different ways to play the same chord. I have found that especially true with the D. I play it differently in the same song sometimes. Also, when I started fingerstyle picking, I had to learn a lot of different chords, many of them suspended chords. But all the same, I'm just learning the ones that I use as they come up.

Down Up Dick · Sep 15, 2014

Rllink, I really think you're correct. When, one goes to a school in the Air Force, they stuff his head with everything there is to know about the job he's gonna do. Then, when he gets on the job, he doesn't use 3/4 of it and has to learn a bunch of new stuff.

If one would learn a tune and then circle any new chords on one of those charts, it would be more efficient I think.
Later

ld:

Justalogin · Sep 15, 2014

Even someone who knows every single chord on the ukulele, in all inversions, rooted and rootless, diminished and half-diminished, with all possible ornamentations.... that person will STILL play songs from muscle memory. It's just easier that way.

greenie44 · Sep 15, 2014

Two takes -

I seem to recall hearing once upon a time that Steve Miller said something along the lines of "I only know 5 chords and I don't plan on learning any more."

And then there is this -
"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." – Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861, from his first inaugural address.

VegasGeorge · Sep 16, 2014

ubulele said:
A propos of this, the most useful graphical chord chart I've ever seen (mine uses plain-text shorthand) is the one in the back matter of Beloff and Sokolow's Ukulele Fretboard Roadmaps. It gives movable shapes for lots of extended chords, and the roots are circled (ghost roots shown by empty circles). Bravo, lads

I just consulted my recently purchased copy of that book. The chord chart you mention is not there. Oh boo-hoo!

Ukejenny · Sep 16, 2014

VegasGeorge said:
I just consulted my recently purchased copy of that book. The chord chart you mention is not there. Oh boo-hoo! Mine is copyright 2006. I bet you have an earlier edition.

Mine is also 2006 and there is a Chord Dictionary in the back. Page 75 and 76.

Ukejenny · Sep 16, 2014

I have no idea how many chords I know from memory. My memorization is mostly song related. I'm continually learning new chords, shapes and different inversions.

VegasGeorge · Sep 16, 2014

Ukejenny said:
Mine is also 2006 and there is a Chord Dictionary in the back. Page 75 and 76.

Ha, hah! My old eyes are so bad I didn't see the "circles" around the root notes the first time I looked at it! Yes, it's there. In my defense, however, I will say the darn thing is tiny.

RAB11 · Sep 16, 2014

My theory is slowly getting better to the point where I can figure chords out higher up the neck and put together fancier chords, but my main muscle memory is in the major, minor and 7th chords in the first position, with a couple of suspended chords in there too.

Definitely need to work on my barre chords and playing further up the neck though. As for learning new chords, I find they crop up fairly regularly in songs I want to learn, so that's how I build my knowledge. Quite often that new chord becomes my favourite chord for a while and I try and put it in everything.

Tootler · Sep 16, 2014

greenie44 said:
I seem to recall hearing once upon a time that Steve Miller said something along the lines of "I only know 5 chords and I don't plan on learning any more."

Pretty much sums me up. I'm not really interested in learning extended chords, augmented and diminished chords etc. as they so rarely occur in the music I play. Nor am I that bothered about playing up the neck. I simply want to produce simple basic accompaniments to the songs I sing. I keep ukuleles tuned in different keys to extend the range of keys but mostly I find I only need a limited range of keys to sing the songs that interest me. If need be, I can always use a capo, though I prefer not to as it gets in the way of my left hand.

coolkayaker1 · Sep 16, 2014

Kimo's take on memorizing chords. I don't "get it", but it works for some.

Ukejenny · Sep 16, 2014

VegasGeorge said:
Ha, hah! My old eyes are so bad I didn't see the "circles" around the root notes the first time I looked at it! Yes, it's there. In my defense, however, I will say the darn thing is tiny.

My circles are also very faint.

Down Up Dick · Sep 16, 2014

Tootler said:
Pretty much sums me up. I'm not really interested in learning extended chords, augmented and diminished chords etc. as they so rarely occur in the music I play. Nor am I that bothered about playing up the neck. I simply want to produce simple basic accompaniments to the songs I sing. I keep ukuleles tuned in different keys to extend the range of keys but mostly I find I only need a limited range of keys to sing the songs that interest me. If need be, I can always use a capo, though I prefer not to as it gets in the way of my left hand.

Ditto everything he said. Bravo!

ld:

Chords In Memory?

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