Chord Warning for Beginners

"Its a clunker"

Younger people may not hear your "clunker", they heard a different version of the tune on Spotify anyway, or they can hear all the frequencies in the chord because they are not old humans with failing hearing.

If you are going to post on the beginners page maybe you could put some effort into explaining why a chord may not fit well into a particular arrangement, and how a beginner can actually identify an ill fitting chord which has not been put there for effect by the arranger?

Is it the key? Is it the pattern of the progression? What is it that makes you think it does not fit in the piece, apart from you not liking how it sounds? Have you ever analysed the music to work out why the sound is not to your liking? Do you even know the names of the notes which are in the written chord and the chord you would like to hear? Beginners deserve a much better explanation and discussion than what is in this thread.

Well it would seem that I owe you and any potential beginners who may have read my posts an apology. I clearly do not know what I'm talking about. When I'm playing some Joe Schmoe's arrangement from the internet and it doesn't sound "right" to me then I must be hearing it wrong. It's probably due to my failing hearing. Or maybe it's the case that it doesn't sound right because a chord or chords are actually wrong but it doesn't matter that I've properly identified the situation as so because I can't provide an in-depth music theory analysis as to why the chord or chords sound wrong. It doesn't matter that I've heard the song a hundred times and know if an accompaniment sounds right or not.

I'm sorry readers. You deserve much better.
 
Also.....
Also.....
In 4/4 time.....
And if memory is correct, and the ‘entry’ measure (whatever it’s called) has a single quarter note or one beat,
The last measure must have 3 beats
I think I know what you mean. Its called an off beat where the first bar has less than the required 4 quarter notes so you have to make it up elsewhere.
Like in this recorder piece I recently learned. It took me ages to get the rhythm right!

 
Last edited:
Before you guys keep passive-aggressively ranting at each other and ruining a reasonably good thread, just stop. Let it go.

There are different kinds of teachers and different ways of teaching, and there are different kinds of beginners and they learn in different ways.

Not everybody has a good ear to identify "wrongness". Not everybody cares to learn music theory to understand "why".
 
In readily available internet chord sheets, it is not uncommon to find chords which are just incorrect. Many times though it can be a matter of using a more basic chord than was used in the original referenced recording, like simplifying a slash chord or sus chord. But most of the time, I think it’s a matter of using an inversion of the chord that conflicts with the original sound. For example, if we use a basic first position C chord 0003 (g,c,e,c), the last note we strum will be the c-note on the a string. This will be the sound that the ear picks up on most. If we play a C chord in a different position, where perhaps the three notes of the chord are arranged differently, it will sound a little different, more so if the top note is different. In chord/melody arrangements you can see how the chord or partial chord is played so that the top note strummed is a match for the melody note you want to convey.

Sometimes things have to be played a certain way to get a certain sound. This was very obvious to me when I wanted to copy a part of a song where the person was playing a bar chord and then just walking it down the fretboard (keeping the same bar shape). If I didn’t (couldn’t) play the bar chords (say D,Db,C) and just substituted whatever shape I knew for each, it didn’t sound the same at all. It often didn’t even seem to go down a step at a time in the same octave. It would jump to a pitch in the wrong direction (sounding kinda “reentrant”, not matching the intent of the song. Hard to explain, but easy to hear as “wrong”.

The longer you play, the more cognizant you will be of chord choice and which shapes or inversions you want to use to get the sound you want (or to match the sound of the original version). The good thing is, there are plenty of songs that work out just fine using basic chords and there are a lot of pretty accurate resources out there. Beginners need not be worried.
 
Well it would seem that I owe you and any potential beginners who may have read my posts an apology. I clearly do not know what I'm talking about. When I'm playing some Joe Schmoe's arrangement from the internet and it doesn't sound "right" to me then I must be hearing it wrong. It's probably due to my failing hearing. Or maybe it's the case that it doesn't sound right because a chord or chords are actually wrong but it doesn't matter that I've properly identified the situation as so because I can't provide an in-depth music theory analysis as to why the chord or chords sound wrong. It doesn't matter that I've heard the song a hundred times and know if an accompaniment sounds right or not.

I'm sorry readers. You deserve much better.

ROFL..awesome post. My response would have been "you seem nice" :)
 
When I started this thread, it was with the assumption that most beginners would naturally gravitate toward learning to play a tune they already knew. Probably a tune that they had heard many times performed by the artist or group that made it popular. When you search online for such a tune, you can usually find at least one site that gives you the lyrics and the chords. The "wrong" chord(s) I was thinking of are those that don't match up with the popular recording. They naturally sound "wrong" because they aren't what's expected to be heard. A beginner might easily be confused by that.
 
This thread has grown pretty long for a beginner to read :).

But yeah, there are many aspects to think of.
Those who post chords on the internet are normal failing people, and dont necessarily have an arrangement good enough to call "right".
And even when they are right, the song can be in any key. The key from your favorite recording may not be the same as the easiest key, and the key it will sound the best when you sing it can be a third key, and the one on the interwebz can be in a fourth key.

If someone is a beginner, I think the idea of asking for help is a good one. We can write a lot of stuff, but not knowibg how good a pitch a beginner will have makes it difficult to suggest solutions to find the best key.
 
It might not be a beginner trick, but my first action after having found a chord sheet online is to Google for sheet music for the song.
That will lead you to pages that charge a fee for the sheet music. But just from the preview, before you pay anything, you can see the vocal range and what key sheet music is in chord wise. I will select the chord sheet that resembles the sheet music preview the best, and transpose it to a key that fits my voice.
 
As has been stated, music is subjective.

I use Ultimate Guitar, download into my OnSong and adjust the chords to fit my tastes. It’s easier than typing the whole thing in my self.

One of my favorite songs to noodle is St Louis Blues, in the key of A, and i stylize it far different from how WC Handy wrote it. But then again, Glenn Miller completely reworked it from WC Handy’s version into a march.

My mantra is have fun.

And speaking of fun.....
Anyone heading to Reno in September? I ain’t buying tickets, which are sold out, almost, but I might drop by if things improve.
 
From post #1:

[ To be clear, to me "wrong" chords are ones that don't sound like the chords used in the popular recording of the song that I remember. And, to be fair, many songs have been recorded with minor variations in the chording. So, technically, some of what I object to isn't so much wrong as it is just unfamiliar. What's "wrong" to me, may be "right" to you. That's OK. I'm just letting you beginners know that what you find online isn't necessarily gospel. You need to find the chords that make you happy with the song.

Keep on strumming! ]


I appreciate calling this situation to the attention of the newbies and beginners among us!

NOTE: in the quote above, the discussion is not about absolute rightness or wrongness,
but relative/subjective assessment of the chords suggested in the arrangement being presented.

I've been trying to address this situation in my Facebook>Ukelandia>(SUPA 05-07) Series by
both making the pdf of the songbook available and creating/posting a video with my rendition
of the song sheet arrangement. I'm doing this so that those who view the videos and follow the
pdf song sheet can both see and hear my rendition of the songs presented.

Whenever I arrange a song to share with others I'm simply trying to transcribe what I think I'm
hearing in my head in a manner that will enhance my fellow ukulele players' enjoyment of both
the song and their ukulele playing.

I understand that they may not remember the song the way I remember it and that my rendition
may be based on a completely different 'cover' of the song (so they can't match in every detail).

to err is human and to cut the other guy some slack is probably a nice thing to do :)

Beginners, it's always OK to question the selection of the chords in a given song sheet.
Go with your 'gut' and work it out for yourself (trial and error). You may come out with something
great, or simply work your way back to what was there in the first place. It's the process that
will help you to both build self-confidence and trust as you progress as an ukulele player.

just my 2 cents :)

keep uke'in',
 
Originally Posted by Another Ukulele:
Also.....
Also.....
In 4/4 time.....
And if memory is correct, and the ‘entry’ measure (whatever it’s called) has a single quarter note or one beat,
The last measure must have 3 beats.

LarryS answered:I think I know what you mean. Its called an off beat where the first bar has less than the required 4 quarter notes so you have to make it up elsewhere.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The partial measure at the beginning of a song or tune is called a "pick-up" or "pick-up notes". If you plan to repeat the song, you should be sure to accommodate by removing the same number of beats from the last measure so that the beat is not interrupted. The last time through. feel free to stretch your ending as long as you want to (as long as it sounds good).
 
Last edited:
Those notes in front of the first full measure of music are generally called "pick up" notes. If the song repeats back to the first measure, then the missing beats are accounted for at the repeat. If not, then the song may end without the missing front end beats ever being made up. A conductor will typically provide the missing beats with silent baton or hand movements, bringing the instruments or vocals in on the pick ups.
 
Top Bottom