I just can't figure the chords the guitarist is using and i really want to play this song

Any help me out? Either with telling me the chords he's using or helping me on figuring them out >_<

I know its in E minor but thats about it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx-HE...layer_embedded

I'll have a listen tomorrow and see what I can do

Cheers Matty let me know soon!

Ok this is an awesome song and I'd not heard it before so thanks for introducing me to some new inspiration.

The 'A' section goes:

Em EmM7 Em7 Em6
Em Em/B B7 (B7/Dsharp)
B7 B7/Fsharp B7 B7/Dsharp
B7 B7/Dsharp Em C7 B7

Em EmM7 Em7 Em6
E7/Gsharp Am6
Am6/9 Em7
C7 B7 Em7 (turnaround)
---------------

The 'B' Section

B7 Em7 B7 Em7 etc

There is a lot of alternating bass stuff going on here but the actual chords are as above, minus a little passing chord here and there.


-------------

The 'Trio' section:

G B7 E7 Am
D7 D7 G G
Fsharp7 B7

G B7 E7 Am9
Am9 D7 G E7
Am9 D9 G6/9

Twice round

--------------------

Back to the 'A' section and repeat the three chords I named the 'turnaround' at the end to finish the piece off.




So that's it really.
There's a lot more to it than what I've written but it's to hard to explain it all and I didn't want to over complicate it! Especially considering I have no hash key on my laptop to write in the sharps!

A lot of the interesting sounding chords come from the moving bass, so listen to what he does and work on it.
Some of the little passing chords I haven't put in because it would have made it harder to follow for you.

Most of the time it is just a half step above or below the actual chord I have written sliding up or down to the target chord.

Have fun with it.

Wow matty, i thank you from the bottom of my heart for this
Around a million people would appreciate this, honestly

Although I am not familiar with some of the chords, i will figure it out from here

Thank you thank you thank you ^_^

That was hot!!

It's a pleasure bob. A beautiful piece of music and no chords online for it! I can show u the chord shapes but it will take a little while for me to post them up

Matty.. may I ask how exactly you were able to do that? I've been figuring out stuff for a very long time and have gotten pretty good at picking up single note stuff out quickly and of course power chords. But full chords I just have a lot of trouble with.

Do you just hear the familiar sound of a 7/6/mi7/etc.. Or figure out the root note then try the variations? Or even hear the individual notes?

It's just something I really need to work on so any advice would be appreciated.

MattyG, you've done more than enough :P But if you wish to post chords that are used (the shapes) then it is entirely up to you
I'm sure there are many many people who will want to learn this song but aren't familiar with some of these chords

Gilberto99, I'm in the same position as you, I was stunned that he actually got all the chords right!
I can figure out simple chords and notes (including solo's) but when it comes to Jazz or any other music which is out of the ordinary to me, it becomes incredibly difficult >_<

It's a mixture of music theory, aural skills, general music knowledge and using my eyes to look at the guitarist's fingers.

The first chord movement Em, EmM7, Em7, Em6 is a classic figure found in hundreds of jazz compositions. As soon as I heard it I knew what it was. It's quite hard to hear the guitar in places on my setup so I had to use my eyes a bit to see how he fingered certain chords, but to be completely honest I would have been able to work it out without visual aid.

Without trying to sound pompous, the rest of the piece is rather simple harmonically speaking. Basic chords, nicely extended with some 6th, 7ths and 9ths.

The music theory bit comes in when naming chords; the Em6 from that classic movement I just mentioned could well be a Dbm7b5 but this name would be theoretically wrong, even though they contain the same notes!
Naming the Am6/9 took a bit of figuring out too.

I think that the movement in the bass line on the guitar would throw some people trying to work out the chords. Most of the time the actual chord remains the same, and the bass moves in 5ths or 3rds.

Yes I do know the sound of a major chord, minor, diminished, augmented, m6, m9, dom7
etc and this comes in very handy when working out pieces like this. I don't necessarily hear all the individual notes but the way they combine makes a sound that I know (usually!).
If I don't know the chord I'll isolate the individual notes by repeatedly listening back over and over, noting down the notes I hear, and name the chord when I'm done.

Yes there is an element of taking the bottom note and working through the variations.

I think it's extremely important for all instrumentalists to recognise at least the four triads by ear.


It takes practice to develop the skills to quickly figure out chord changes by ear. Lots of years listening to music and playing music. When you listen ask yourself what you hear. Major? Minor? Learn as much theory as you can. Learn Cadences (perfect, plagal, imperfect etc) and learn some common changes such as ii V I.

Figure out simple stuff first and progress.

If you have a buddy who plays guitar or piano quiz each other on chord recognition, scale recognition, interval recognition, cadence recognition etc.

Learn as many chords as possible and get familiar with how they sound. If you want to figure out jazz, it makes sense that you are already familiar with the chords commonly used in jazz. Of course it is not just restricted to jazz but hopefully you get my point.

Thanks for the links..!! need to learn more chords..!!!

Almost 2 years on and I still can't play this yet :\