This message is not necessarily directed to Pogo - I would agree with much of the advice above - but to anyone who needs help with chords.

(1) I hope to shortly commence a collaborative project to add the chords to some of the songs at Mudcat, maybe just a couple of hundred so that beginners have something to start. So I won't be looking for Girl From Ipanema, but good basic standards like Wild Rover or Will The Circle Be Unbroken.

(2) There are at least three items of PC software which will generate chords. ABCMUS is my top pick, followed by Mudcatter Pavane's HARMONY - this prog is improving at a great rate and should become the equal of ABCMUS in this regard. MusicEase is a long way behind and I wouldn't recommend it. Don't expect the results to be perfect, but for beginner's songs they do a pretty good job. Don't even think about using them for jazz or ragtime tunes.

(3) There is probably no such thing as the 'right' chord, but in many cases for folk music you can be 'right enough' by analysing the notes in a particular bar. Hence if the notes are C, E and G, then it's a fair bet that the chord is C. From this simpllest case the analysis get's a bit more complex, but at the end of the day you will need to rely on your ear (or musical convention) to make the decision.

(4) I've had occasions in my past where we've deliberately chosen the 'wrong' chord simply because the vocal harmonies we'd worked out sounded better. I'm an intuitive chord player so I sometimes find it hard to play (say) an Em so match the vocals, when my brain tells me to play G major.

Regards, John