D Am Em G - Killer chord progression

bongolele · Feb 15, 2012

The chorus of 'Our House' (madness) has a D-Am-Em-G chord progression. http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/ourhous0.htm

And it's a killer! Even with the simplest inversions I found the muscles in my thumb really started to hurt after a while from holding down that D barre and moving to the Am.

They should have thrown a Bb in there for good measure. Or one of these C# ones...

Personally, I think all songs should only be allowed written with 4 chords, G7, C, F, Am.

ETA: I forgot! There's a B F#m C#m E further down! Even worse! lol

BasicUke · Feb 15, 2012

bongolele said:
The chorus of 'Our House' (madness) has a D-Am-Em-G chord progression. http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/ourhous0.htm

And it's a killer! Even with the simplest inversions I found the muscles in my thumb really started to hurt after a while from holding down that D barre and moving to the Am.

But it's such a cool song! That's one I'll add to my song book to learn when I am quite a bit better!

Personally, I think all songs should only be allowed written with 4 chords, G7, C, F, Am.

ETA: I forgot! There's a B F#m C#m E further down! Even worse! lol

:agree:

Ukulele JJ · Feb 15, 2012

Well, you could play the D without the barre. For example, index on the 2nd fret, 4th string, middle on 2nd fret, 3rd string, and ring finger on 2nd fret 2nd string.

Then the Am is a simple matter of just lifting up your middle and ring fingers.

Great song, though.

JJ

nscafe · Feb 15, 2012

^ Agreed. I'm a three-finger D chord guy myself.

bongolele · Feb 15, 2012

Yeah, I've been over-using the 2225 (barre) shape for D - Makes it more intuitive to play the D7 from there. But I've got to be more flexible and use the most suitable shape for the song. (As mentioned 3-finger D would make the move to Am easier)

But surprisingly, the one chord I'm always slipping up on is Em. For most other moves I always get one finger there first, so I'm holding the fretboard steady. The move to Em makes me 'drop' the fretboard, so I sometimes do this awkward hand repositioning thing and fumble it.

I think I'll look at the shoelace-as-a-strap solution to support the head.

Lanark · Feb 15, 2012

It's all about the practice and patience. I've played for years and even now I struggle occasionally with certain songs ("Boys Don't Cry" can be a bear on uke)

The chord switching will come in time. I generally use the Bb shape version of D at the 5th fret a lot which was a habit I picked up through playing with other people and wanting to widen the sound a bit. (I tend to be all over the neck for no good reason anyway) But I would heartily recommend working on mastering that Bb moveable chord shape. It will open up a lot of stuff for you. (and F#m (2120) really?)

But generally, it's going to be baby steps. Anticipate them. Take them.

Ronnie Aloha · Feb 15, 2012

bongolele said:
Yeah, I've been over-using the 2225 (barre) shape for D - Makes it more intuitive to play the D7 from there. But I've got to be more flexible and use the most suitable shape for the song. (As mentioned 3-finger D would make the move to Am easier)

But surprisingly, the one chord I'm always slipping up on is Em. For most other moves I always get one finger there first, so I'm holding the fretboard steady. The move to Em makes me 'drop' the fretboard, so I sometimes do this awkward hand repositioning thing and fumble it.

I think I'll look at the shoelace-as-a-strap solution to support the head.

The shoelace will make a world of difference on the Em!

strumsilly · Feb 15, 2012

cool song.
you could play the D 2225, then the Am 2000[just lifting the barr and depressing top string], Em 4432 [barring the 2nd fret,Dm shape] , then just lift the pinky for the G 4232 [barring the 2nd again,F shape] .then back to the D, you really don't move your index finger off the 2nd fret.

bongolele · Feb 15, 2012

Lanark said:
But I would heartily recommend working on mastering that Bb moveable chord shape. It will open up a lot of stuff for you.

Yeah, the thought had occurred to me - But it felt like cheating

- Oh congrats on the 1,000th post btw.

strumsilly said:
cool song.
you could play the D 2225, then the Am 2000[just lifting the barr and depressing top string], Em 4432 [barring the 2nd fret,Dm shape] , then just lift the pinky for the G 4232 [barring the 2nd again,F shape] .then back to the D, you really don't move your index finger off the 2nd fret.

2225 (barre) to 2000 is the real workout. But that Em-G shape looks interesting, I'll try it later, thanks!

OldePhart · Feb 15, 2012

Don't forget that you can play the Am as a barre at the second fret - if it's lifting for the Am that is hanging you up you might want to try that. Use the Gm shape up two frets, (barre with index finger and use your other three fingers to make the Gm shape).

Also, in some songs you can get away with playing an Am7 for the Am so all you have to do is lift your barre and play all strings open.

Doesn't always work though, you have to see how it fits with the progression.

John

Bill Mc · Feb 15, 2012

Building on what OldePharte suggested, after the open am7 you can play 0402 instead of 4432 for the em. I like the resonance of the 0402. Also possible is 0432 for em, 0332 for G+, then the G. Experiment with all the shapes and progession variations and see what sounds best. Practice over and over. Sometimes playing a simpler version of a chord that sounds good will give your hand a split second rest to set up for a more difficult chord that follows.

D Am Em G - Killer chord progression

bongolele

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Mahalo Sen. Dan, R.I.P.

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