The way that I do it is that I look at the actual melody line. So, if I am listening to a Greenday song or a Pearl Jam song or an Eric Clapton song, or if it is Mary Had a Little Lamb or whatever it is, it is all the same. It is all music. So there are two parts to a piece of music. For the most part, there is the melody and there are the chords. Then you have percussion. You have a bunch of arrangements. Let us just take the melody and the chords.
Now, Mary had a little lamb so E-D-C-D-E-E right?
When I see the notes E-D-C, I think well C is prior the root. Let us go back there.
All right, so I know that I am in the key of C. It is very, very nice. If I were to play – it would not work.
It did not work as well as this. So I would take that and then I begin to go around with it. So let us play C.
No it did not work so let me try, if I were to get F.
No, it did not work. So I keep on going around with that then a good option is how if I just stay on C? Well that can work.
Okay, that works. So what if I wanted to add some more chords to it. It sounds very plain. So what if I was to throw an F in there? Just because I am using my ear, I know that is going to work.
Guys, so that works. Once you get those chords down, you can take that with any song, any chord, and any melody. This is a loose way of doing it and it is not always correct, but it is a good way to start at least if you are learning some more basic songs. Usually, the first chord in the song is the key that it is in. We do not have to use C-F-C-G-C. You just have tone of it. Just sing it and mess around. Play some cool chords. Make up your own chords and see if it works. If it does not work, then you have to do much better. So check it out. Here is what I found with.
Keep on practicing. You will get it! You always do! The chords I arranged Mary Had a Little Lamb are: C-Em-G6-C, C-Em-Gsus4-C.
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