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Random quote: "Got time to breathe, got time for music." --Briscoe Darling. |
"All you need are 3-chords.."
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Forums Archive -> The Vault: 2008 | Message format |
Mr. Ovation |
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Joined: December 2001 Posts: 7211 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. | ||
Mr. Ovation |
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Joined: December 2001 Posts: 7211 Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Roll Over Beethoven and Johnny B. Goode seems to be a keepers | ||
First Alternate |
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Joined: May 2005 Posts: 486 Location: North Carolina | Louie Louie's IV chord is a minor, so one would have to know a fourth chord. | ||
First Alternate |
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Joined: May 2005 Posts: 486 Location: North Carolina | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation: Chain of FoolsNow songs LESS THAN 3 chords may qualify, I just can't think of any. | ||
Slipkid |
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Joined: September 2003 Posts: 9301 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. | ||
Mr. Ovation |
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Joined: December 2001 Posts: 7211 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 | ||
Captain Lovehandles |
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Joined: July 2005 Posts: 3408 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! | ||
Captain Lovehandles |
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Joined: July 2005 Posts: 3408 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 | ||
Waskel |
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Joined: February 2005 Posts: 11840 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... | ||
CrimsonLake |
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Joined: August 2006 Posts: 3145 Location: Marlton, NJ | A whole lotta Ramones songs? | ||
moody, p.i. |
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Joined: March 2002 Posts: 15654 Location: SoCal | Everything I play...... | ||
guitarwannabee |
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Joined: January 2006 Posts: 1477 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 | ||
BT717 |
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Joined: October 2007 Posts: 2711 Location: Vernon CT | How about Dylan's "You ain't going Nowhere" (G, Am , C) | ||
seesquare |
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Joined: November 2002 Posts: 3604 Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | How 'bout only TWO?! "Horse With No Name" | ||
Omaha |
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Joined: November 2005 Posts: 1126 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. | ||
Waskel |
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Joined: February 2005 Posts: 11840 Location: closely held secret | "Tomorrow Never Knows" is also a 1 chord song. | ||
stonebobbo |
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Joined: August 2002 Posts: 8307 Location: Tennessee | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation: Shouldn't that be G C D :confused: I started with E A B or G D E... good as place as any right??? 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" ;) | ||
Akami |
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Joined: January 2007 Posts: 146 Location: Japan | Originally posted by seesquare: Except that there's 4.How 'bout only TWO?! "Horse With No Name" | ||
Yak |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 347 Location: Reno, NV | CCR ... Down on the Corner | ||
felonius funk |
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Joined: November 2007 Posts: 24 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. | ||
fillhixx |
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Joined: November 2005 Posts: 4820 Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Run Through The Jungle - 1 chord Am | ||
schroeder |
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Joined: November 2004 Posts: 4413 | "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.) | ||
Slipkid |
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Joined: September 2003 Posts: 9301 Location: south east Michigan | It's amazing what you can get out of 3 chords. And... Welcome to the board Mr. Funk. | ||
an4340 |
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Joined: May 2003 Posts: 4389 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 | ||
Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by seesquare: "For What It's Worth" can be done with Two, or so I am told. How 'bout only TWO?! "Horse With No Name" 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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