Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 Aug 15 - 07:10 PM

My 2 cents....

In the songbooks we've created for church use, each copy of the people's word books and our players' books of chords specify that "copying is a no-no." This is not because there's something unique in our arrangements, but because frankly I expect people to do their own work and not imitate our approach.

It was hard work to create arrangements in multiple keys for various songleaders-- making them all uniform, etc., using certain conventions of indicating things.... they're just for us and anyone we choose to play with or incorporate. They need to be kept uniform and not have keys missing or stuff added to one binder not also added to the rest of the set... fixed errors in some binders but not in others..... the goal being that anyone can pick up a binder, sit in without rehearsal, and fit right in.

I'd expect someone wanting to do the same songs beyond that to put in their own work making them their own.

OTOH-- some of these arrangements will shortly go into a freely-available form for song circles, so I guess I don't care as much as I once did.

~S~

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: PHJim
Date: 25 Aug 15 - 11:43 AM

Oh, it is wrong to try and play the progressions above against each other.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: PHJim
Date: 25 Aug 15 - 11:41 AM

I agree with Cool Beans that song books and more often the internet are often wrong, but Woody did often play an Ab chord. He did this by applying a capo (Woody called it a "clamper") at the first fret and fingering a G chord.

As Leadfingers implied, there are more than one correct way to chord a song. Because we don't play the same chords for a particular song doesn't mean that one of us is wrong (unless we try playing them at the same time).

Playing Will The Circle. . ., some folks throw a VI minor chord in right before "in the sky" and some leave it out. Both are right.

Some folks like to play Tenessee Waltz as:

G |G |G |C |G |G |D7 |D7 |. . .
While some get a bit fancier and play:

G |G |G |C |G |E7 |A7 |D7 |. . .
James Taylor played Oh Susannah simply as an instrumental, but when he backed up his vocals, he added a lot of chord substitutions.
None of these chord progressions are wrong. They're just different.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: Cool Beans
Date: 25 Aug 15 - 10:57 AM

Bo Diddley used to lament that he couldn't copyright his signature rhythmic riff: Bump cha-BUMP-cha-BUMP, BUMP BUMP. Everybody uses it. Same goes for chords. Also, don't rely on song books for chords, they are notoriously wrong. A Woody Guthrie songbook I have uses chords like Ab, which Woody never played.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 25 Aug 15 - 04:51 AM

And remember that even a song that is written as a "Three Chord Trick" can be embellished by a skilful musician adding 'passing chords'

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: PHJim
Date: 25 Aug 15 - 12:29 AM

Chord progressions, like song titles, cannot be copyrighted. There are many songs that have the same chord progressions. Tunes and lyrics, however, are copyrightable. Follow the advice given in the posts above and you should be fine.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: GUEST,cosmos42
Date: 24 Aug 15 - 07:49 PM

Thank you, all.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: michaelr
Date: 24 Aug 15 - 07:07 PM

What Stim said.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 24 Aug 15 - 05:33 PM

There is no particular obligation to credit your sources for chords. For one thing, you don't necessarily know where the person on Mudcat(or whereever) got the chords from. You don't even know if they are the right chords, and from my years of experience, the chords posted here and other places usually need some adjustment before they are workable.

If you include chords (which you really should), you need to make sure that the chords actually work--I would recommend that you get a collaborator who plays guitar to go thru all the chord progressions that you find to make sure that they are useable, and that they are presented in a form that they are easy to read and play-then you should then give that person credit. They will have earned it.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: zozimus
Date: 24 Aug 15 - 05:31 PM

Chords are derived from the melody of the tune, so if you know a guitar
player and give him/her the tune, they will work out the chords. For camp songs, I imagine they would not be very complicated. The problem with getting them from internet sources is that often they are the wrong chords! Are

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: GUEST,#
Date: 24 Aug 15 - 05:25 PM

Good advice, leeneia.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 24 Aug 15 - 05:18 PM

I feel that crediting chord sources is a waste of your time. Most of the music you will be doing is so simple that an experienced musician can put chords to it in a few minutes. And the songs in your book will have been given the same chords by different people at different times in the past.

Save your time and energy for the kids. For today's kids, love is spelled T-I-M-E.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: GUEST,#
Date: 24 Aug 15 - 03:39 PM

cosmos, the only situation under which I can see the need to credit chords to a song are situations under which a person has arranged a piece of work and subsequently claimed a credit as the arranger. I doubt you'll encounter much of that with most songs. If you encounter 'Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore' in a minor key, then maybe.

Subject: Chord Req: Crediting chord sources?
From: GUEST,cosmos42
Date: 24 Aug 15 - 03:24 PM

I'd like to include the guitar chords, where available, for the camp songs on the site I'm bringing back from the dead, but since I don't play guitar, I'm completely reliant on the wisdom and skills of others.

And that's where my question lies. If, for example, I get the chords from someone on Mudcat, do I credit that person? (and how, if they just signed "Guest" or got it from "somewhere online"?) What if I find the same chords on several different songbook sites? Proper attribution is important to me, but do the compilers of guitar chords get credit for them? (more relevant for songs whose origins are unknown or which were not guitar songs in the first place) How do I explain where I got the chords from? Do I need to?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.