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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | and the truth.." and other similar phrases about only needing to know 3-chords to play 100's if not 1000's of rock tunes.
Well I've been given a challenge to come up with a short list of 3-chord songs (all using the same three chords). They need to be popular tunes, that people have actually heard of, hence POPULAR.
Now initially I thought this would be pretty easy. I'm more into 80's metal, but I did my time in a 50's band... no problem.
I started with E A B or G D E... good as place as any right???
- Wild Thing... well.. technically it's a 4-chord song.
- Mustang Sally... again.. technically 4 chords
- Blue Suede Shoes.. 4 chords.
- Louie Louie (so far the only winner!!!)
- Kansas City (may qualify, but there should be a C# in there on the turn around.)
So all you 50's and 60's rockers... lets have'em. Now songs LESS THAN 3 chords may qualify, I just can't think of any. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Roll Over Beethoven and Johnny B. Goode seems to be a keepers |
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Location: North Carolina | Louie Louie's IV chord is a minor, so one would have to know a fourth chord. |
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Location: North Carolina | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
Now songs LESS THAN 3 chords may qualify, I just can't think of any. Chain of Fools |
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Location: south east Michigan | Summertime Blues
Harry Nilson's "Coconut" song has only one chord.
C7.. B7... E7... whatever one you pick.
I prefer C7. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Chain of Fools = Rock... well... ok..
That actually brought back a few memories. It didn't have ANY chords when I played it. Mute the strings, distortion and wah-wah (a la Shaft-style)... let the horns, percussion and keys work out "the key".
Summertime Blues.... good one!!! thanks |
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Location: GA USA | Great topic at a great time. Here's a twist. I'm starting my free guitar class for children in January. I am looking for easy songs for absolute beginners. One beginner lesson I saw online had Peaceful Easy Feeling and Brown Eyed Girl as simple 3 chord songs to start with. But with little kids, I can't have them singing "I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight" or "Making love in the green grass behind the stadium". Help! |
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Location: GA USA | Did you see the movie Stranger Than Fiction? Will Ferrell knew he was going to die, so he bought a guitar and learned one song with 2 chords..
Whole Wide World by Reckless Eric |
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Location: closely held secret | "Why don't we do it in the road?"
"Bye, Bye Love"
"Hang on Sloopy"
"Wooley Bully"
"Twist & Shout"
"Travelin' Band"
and most any Chuck Berry song... |
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Location: Marlton, NJ | A whole lotta Ramones songs? |
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Location: SoCal | Everything I play...... |
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Location: Michigan | Hey are all of you burned out from the bad acid of the Sixties..
!!!!!!!THE GREATEST 3 CHORD SONG EVER!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!! G L O R I A !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IM GONNA SHOUT IT ALL NIGHT
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! G L O R I A !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!YEAH YEAH YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
E D A CHORDS ..GWB |
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Location: Vernon CT | How about Dylan's "You ain't going Nowhere"
(G, Am , C) |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | How 'bout only TWO?!
"Horse With No Name" |
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Location: Omaha, NE | Really, just about any of the "British Invasion" songs fit this category, since they were largely re-packaging black USA blues songs.
And some of this depends on how literal you mean. For example, you can play Crossroads using literally just three chords. Same thing for I Saw Her Standing There, but in that case you will have to cut a couple of corners...still the basic structure of the song is the blues standard I-IV-V progression.
Lots of the old school country stuff (eg, Hank Williams, Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson) fits this pattern. Stuff like Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Your Cheatin' Heart and Blue Eye's Cryin' In The Rain.
Countless other songs come to mind...Maybe Pink Cadillac, Bad Moon Rising, Fulsom Prison Blues, etc, etc, etc.
For some really simple stuff, the folk world has lots to offer. I think about half the songs off of Peter, Paul and Mary's In The Wind album were played with two or three chords (eg, Long Chain On, Stewball). More contemporary artists (such as Tracy Chapman with Give Me One Reason) are possibilities too. |
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Location: closely held secret | "Tomorrow Never Knows" is also a 1 chord song. |
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Location: Tennessee | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
I started with E A B or G D E... good as place as any right???
Shouldn't that be G C D :confused:
How about La Bamba? C F G
A Boy Named Sue ... plus a lot of the rest of the Johnny Cash catalog
In a related twist, Cover of The Rolling Stone
Takin' Care of Business
I think Tush would qualify
Free Fallin' is mostly two chords but adds a third during one break
Breakfast at Tiffany's for the younger crowd
My son's song "The Hardest Things" (just released on ToTheFallen Records, plug, plug) is only two chords -- E and A. But it may be a while before it qualifies as "popular" ;) |
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Location: Japan | Originally posted by seesquare:
How 'bout only TWO?!
"Horse With No Name" Except that there's 4. |
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Location: Reno, NV | CCR ...
Down on the Corner |
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Location: indianapolis | Domino technically only has two chords (except for fancy people.)
Use Me by Bill Withers has two.
But we may be overlooking a fine three chord band - The Kinks.
Baba O'Reilly has three except for whatever the one is in the bridge.
Last Train to Clarksville is mostly three with a funky somethin else chord.
Cherry Cherry by Neil Diamond is three I think. |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Run Through The Jungle - 1 chord
Am |
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| "I'm a man" - Muddy Waters - one chord (there's a version of this out on YouTube somewhere with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Keith Richards playing. You never saw 3 so bored people.) |
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Location: south east Michigan | It's amazing what you can get out of 3 chords.
And... Welcome to the board Mr. Funk. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I'm a man 1 chord A
segue's into Love is a Burning Thing A,D,E
Beach Boy's Do you wanna Dance Key of F#
segue into Before You Accuse Me, EAD
La Bamba, Los Lobos Version CFG7
seque into The Twist, Beatles Verson Same
Ton's of Hank Williams Tunes |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by seesquare:
How 'bout only TWO?!
"Horse With No Name" "For What It's Worth" can be done with Two, or so I am told.
And you can do "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" with three, but you'd be Wrong!
There is a whole bunch of YouTube lessons by ThreeChordGuitar.com but alot of the songs really have more than three chords.
[besides that website, if you go to YouTube and search ThreeChordGuitar you will get a bunch of videos] |
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"All you need are 3-chords.."
