Song Help Request I'm So Lonesome I could cry...

There is a wonderful rendition of Hank William's "I'm so lonesome I could cry" on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRpexVV3oqU

I have been trying to decipher his chords...but with little success.
He uses different chords than the sheet music I have found on the web. Can anyone with a good ear (or eye) assist in deciphering his chords?

Thanks.

Ukuvic

Had a quick look. He's left handed which you have to take account of.

I noticed that he permanently has his first finger on the first fret. Given that chords for these songs on the web are often given in C or G, my first thought was he is in Bb. I checked the chords on one site and they were in C. Though I would need to check again (going out soon), I am pretty sure he was in Bb, so the chords would be Bb, Bb7, Eb and F7.

Remember, you don't have to stick to the chords given in the websites. Transpose the songs to suit your voice. I do that regularly.

This is wonderful...thank you. You did in a matter of minutes what would have taken me weeks of trial and error (mostly error).

Tootler said:

Had a quick look. He's left handed which you have to take account of.

I noticed that he permanently has his first finger on the first fret. Given that chords for these songs on the web are often given in C or G, my first thought was he is in Bb. I checked the chords on one site and they were in C. Though I would need to check again (going out soon), I am pretty sure he was in Bb, so the chords would be Bb, Bb7, Eb and F7.

Remember, you don't have to stick to the chords given in the websites. Transpose the songs to suit your voice. I do that regularly.

Click to expand...

Barring the first fret

My music theory and uke experience are minimal...so I am intrigued by your comment that he had his first finger permanently on the first fret. How does this affect the chording of this tune?

I wish I could transpose songs to suit my voice...but alas my knowledge of music is limited and I rely on the hard work and musical talent of others to guide me. My voice has a tendency to sound like a bear caught in a trap (and that's on a good day)...so transposing music to suit my voice may be a challenge...even if I knew the mechanics of transposing music. Thanks for your assistance.

Tootler said:

Had a quick look. He's left handed which you have to take account of.

I noticed that he permanently has his first finger on the first fret. Given that chords for these songs on the web are often given in C or G, my first thought was he is in Bb. I checked the chords on one site and they were in C. Though I would need to check again (going out soon), I am pretty sure he was in Bb, so the chords would be Bb, Bb7, Eb and F7.

Remember, you don't have to stick to the chords given in the websites. Transpose the songs to suit your voice. I do that regularly.

Click to expand...

Ukuvic12 said:

My music theory and uke experience are minimal...so I am intrigued by your comment that he had his first finger permanently on the first fret. How does this affect the chording of this tune?

Click to expand...

It means all the chords he is playing are barre chords. He is using his first finger a bit like a capo so it moves everything up half a step.

I wish I could transpose songs to suit my voice...but alas my knowledge of music is limited and I rely on the hard work and musical talent of others to guide me. My voice has a tendency to sound like a bear caught in a trap (and that's on a good day)...so transposing music to suit my voice may be a challenge...even if I knew the mechanics of transposing music. Thanks for your assistance.

Click to expand...

The best answer I can give to this just now is to suggest you see about learning some basic music theory. Learn about scales and keys and how chords fit into this. There is a logical pattern to it and if you can understand the patterns, then knowing the mechanics of transposing becomes less of a mystery. Actually doing it, well that's another story. It involves some trial and error. Trying things a little higher or lower until you feel your voice can comfortably sing the tune.

If I was learning I'm so lonesome, I could cry, I would probably try it in C as given on the website I looked at as I know there is a fair chance it would work for me. If you find that you struggle to reach the notes at some point in the song, then you need to think about either going up a little or down a little depending on whether it is the low notes or the high notes you had problems with.

Ideally, you (and I!) would be able to transpose using our brains. But I still rely on sites for help:

If you already have the lyrics and chords, go here to transpose: http://tabtransposer.com/

If you need the lyrics and chords, you can get them from these sites -- http://www.chordie.com/ and http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ and then transpose within the site (or by going to tabtransposer). Chordie and Tab Transposer also offer ukulele chords as an option (rather than guitar).

When given the option, choose "Chords" rather than "Tabs."

Great song, originally by Hank Williams, but the definitive version was sung by B. J. Thomas in the late 60s. I have the guitar tab from Williams - email or PM me and I'll email you a scanned version.