Lyr/Chords Req: Oh sussanah

Subject: Oh sussanah
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jan 00 - 02:33 AM

does anyone have any workable chords to Fosters Oh sussanah?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Oh sussanah
From: Amos
Date: 30 Jan 00 - 02:42 AM

C, G, G, C...F, C, G, C ought to do it.
I will take the liberty of adding that a good 80% of Western folk songs can be happily peformed by mastering three or four chords in the key of your choice. These chords, traditionally, in the order of frequency of use, are the tonic, the subdominant, the dominant, and the relative minor.

Counting on the major scale the tonic is the first note (the one the key is named after). The subdominant is the fourth note of the scale (in the key of C, the subdominant is F) and the dominant is the fifth note of the scale. (In C, the dominant is G).

If you learn these three chords -- C, F and G -- you will be able to play a huge number of songs. If you add the relative minor, which is A minor in the key of C (the sixth note of the scale, but made minor), you can do another huge number of songs including "Oh, Donna" and "Teenager in Love", should you wish to.

In the key of G, the same triad is G, C and D. The relative minor is Em. Just for another example.

Work the song against these chords, and you will find you can work out a very large numbe rof them for yourself just knowing this much. Add the second (such as D in the key of C) to use when bridging from (for example) C to G and you have another whole collection.

You will get a lot further singing and playing if you use these basics to work out accompaniments than you will seeking rote chord sequences to stick to, one song at a time.

Given enough fooling around with these sequences and you will be able to play by ear a large per centage of the time.

Happy Hunting!

A.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Oh sussanah
From: WyoWoman
Date: 30 Jan 00 - 11:48 AM

Hello, Amos,

Thanks for the information. I'm a singer but am just learning to play guitar so I can stop being instrumentalist-dependent. This was most helpful.

WyoWoman

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Oh sussanah
From: Amos
Date: 30 Jan 00 - 02:59 PM

Hell, Wyo, if I had but known it was you I would have written more graciously. I am glad it was useful. Just those four or five chords (in the key of your choice) will make you a free-standing performer in no time!

A.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Oh sussanah
From: Jon W.
Date: 31 Jan 00 - 12:25 PM

One way I have used sometimes is this: 1) decide what key you are going to sing it in. You can usually do this by trying to match the notes on the guitar to your voice. Better that way than try and my voice to a key that is out of my range. B) play just the melody on single strings of the guitar (or banjo or whatever). For simple melodies this isn't too hard if you can play the scale. III) for each important note of the melody - that is to say, each one that has an emphasis on it or lasts for very long - figure out which of the three or four chords for the song's key has that note in it. Lastly and Optionally, develop a finger-picking pattern that hits the right notes in the chords at the right rhythmic moments. This will often involve adding/subtracting notes from the chord at certain points.

I've learned a good oh, four or five songs this way ;) FWIW