Chord Changing

Witters

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Hi Folks,

Does anyone change any chords in a song you are learning, or maybe just change any to spruce it up a bit?

Maybe you might change them because some of them are too hard - what I mean is because you might not be comfortable with some chords so try and change some rather than transposing?

The reason I'm asking is because I have this chord book by Roy Sakuma and he advices a try of different chords and I must say I wouldn't be without this book now, and apart from anything else, I reckon its a must have especially for beginners who get stuck on certain chords mainly because they are pretty hard.
 
Yes! I change chords, leave chords out, or add chords. That's part of what makes music fun and unique. You can find individuals who insist a piece is only correct if played this way at this tempo, etc. But these people don't seem to own ukes.

There are times I can't play the chords as laid out in a piece - sometimes fingers just don't want to work that way. So I find another version of the chord. Sometimes that will lead me to change a chord before or after to something else if I like the sound more.

I remove chords when I find the piece is too complicated. I do what I need to do so I can enjoy the piece now, but then I also keep working on the complicated version to improve my skills.

If playing music is frustrating and stops being fun, then something is wrong.
 
Oh yeah! I come from a jazz background, where chord substitutions are pretty much expected.

JJ
 
That’s good to hear. I remember a good while back someone asked a similar question on another forum and world war 3 started.
The poster in question was having big trouble with the B chord and asked a way around it or if you can change it to something else, or maybe even an easier way, because he likes certain things which always had the B chord in them. Well, that was just to much to read for some members and a massive fight broke out, and they even tried to belittle him.

That was a good while ago now and I didn’t have enough confidence then to stick up for the person because I was fairly new myself. But after reading some other stuff by this Roy Sakuma, he actually encourages people to change things. Its probably a very old book but I’m glad I found it.
 
FYI, you can find more info about Roy Sakuma on his website. . .
 
I change, chords to sute me, With only three fingers on my left hand that I can use. No one ever hears me play so if it sounds good to me that is what counts. I did talk to a gentalman to day that said he can teach me how to use my thumb on some of the four finger chords that I want to learn I am looking forward to that.
 
Does anyone change any chords in a song you are learning, or maybe just change any to spruce it up a bit?
All the time. My song collections are covered in my notes and chord diagrams showing where I tinkered. I even had a rubber stamp made with a chord template to make it neater. I'm even compiling a new songbook of my favourites with the chords I prefer all properly marked in, using Corel Draw.
 
Yup.

I sometimes get lyrics and chords from Chordie.com etc, but that's mostly for the words. If the chords are right I use them as a starting point to save me having to figure them all out, but it is rare to find chord transcriptions that aren't full of errors. I really don't know how some of them stay up there uncorrected.

I've posted a few corrections in my time, but many, many of the ones online are plain wrong. That in itself is a good reason to change the chords from what is written.

I'm not great with substitution. Fortunately our lead guitarist and sax player are both seriously talented jazz heads, so I get assistance and pointers from them.

I do like playing old standards. That thing you get where the chords change with every beat. Great feeling of movement and variety. So much more fun than just hitting a whole set of I, IV, V or I, vi, IV, V. I just wish I was good enough to figure out appropriate extended chords for my own arrangements. As it is I have to rely on our guitarist for help with it, although I sometimes tweak his arrangements a little to suit my taste. I'm sure my changes are technically invalid in many cases!

I totally envy the thing he can do where I hit a chord and he just names it. Flash git. I know he worked to get that good, but still... Flash git.
 
I'm finding most tabs and homegrown chord charts that I find online have errors - or at least, choices that I disagree with, to be more diplomatic about it. :rolleyes:

At first that frustrated me, but in the long run I think it's helping me learn, by forcing me to think harder and dig deeper.

Tabs and chord charts provide me with a starting point. From there, I spend time listening to the original recordings, and then I experiment to find chords and arrangements that seem most effective, given my minimal technical ability and the sonic limitations and quirks of the ukulele.
 
Some chords can be substituted to make things easier. For example you can play a 7th instead of a 9th or a minor instead of a minor 7th because the former are really just extenstions of the latter. It won't sound quite as good most of the time but it will certainly work and make life easier as you learn.

The main thing is, as Duke Ellington said, "If it sounds good. It is good."

To tell the truth I hardly ever play a song the way it is written out but I like to see the music it because it gives me a road map. Kinda like having a recipe when you're cooking. It gives you a good place to start.
 
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I wish I had known this when I first started as it would have made me less frustrated in trying to nail what I consider hard chords for a new player. I just used to think that what was printed was how it should be.

I mentioned the B chord which came up quite a lot on another forum and I had trouble with it as well.
The thing is that Jim Beloff introduces this chord half way through his beginners learning book and prints some songs with it in. While I understand that sooner or later you will have to play this chord, personally I don’t think you need it as quick as Jim suggests. Again personally, I don’t use it at all even though I spent many hours trying to get it right. Still, that’s another story.
 
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