Help needed to identify chords!

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Hi Guys... a while ago I came across Norman's Rare Guitars on YouTube. It's great to see the amazing variety of players, some famous,  some less so but always very talented, who drop by and play a few songs on the famous couch. A couple of weeks ago I watched a clip of a girl called Arielle singing and playing one of her own songs... a nice, slow, bluesy/jazzy rendition. I tried to work out the chords that she's using but without much success, so, I wrote to her and asked her. She wrote back the following day and told me this... "The chords for the verse and chorus are GMaj7, Em7, Am7, D7, but on certain words, I'll play a Cm7 instead of or right before the D7 The bridge is a little more of a tricky chord sequence and then the last Chorus modulates up a whole step to A." I've tried out all of the versions that I know for these chords and they do not sound anything like the chords that she's playing... and most of the chords that I know do not even look like the chords that she's using. It would be greatly appreciated if some kind soul with time to spare could take a look at the clip and work out the fingering for these chords... and maybe, if it's not too much to ask, jot them down for me? Cheers, Hansi



TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche   TO BE IS TO DO - Kant   DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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  • Wow, I cant help you with the chords but i love the tune so thanks for posting.  A little bit Norah Jones crossed with Jack Johnson
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  • Hi HansiR,

    most of the time she uses pretty much these chords with slight variations.

    https://www.manneschlaier.com/images/chords-arielle.png


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  • It's quite a classic doo-wop style chord progression. Very nice.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50s_progression

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  • Make sure its in 6/8 as well!
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  • Wow, thanks so much DrCornelius, Manne, Matt, & Lestratcaster... you guys know so much! Thanks so much for the chord chart Manne... I think it's those slight variations that are the problem! I even played that clip in slow motion and still couldn't quite see what chord shapes she's holding. This is a very sweet tune and I really like the little runs between chords too. She's very talented but also very down to earth and friendly, and apparently plays really well live. I believe she mainly plays with her band, so this solo clip is a rare chance to see and hear her unplugged and informal... very nice. I'm still puzzled over the first opening bars... the little run down the low E string to what appears to be an e minor 7th but not the one shown in the chart, she also bars a chord at the 3rd fret which isn't in the chart... I'm still trying to work out what notes she's actually holding down with those chords... but that chart is great, thanks so much for answering so quickly! Cheers, Hansi

    TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche   TO BE IS TO DO - Kant   DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7670
    edited September 2018

    The first four chords sound like GM7 - 354433 (although you can't really hear her play the 7 so it might as well be a GMaj)) / Em7 - 020000 / A (something like 5x5x55) / D7 - x54530
    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7670

    and the last chord before the G a second time is a Cm7 - x35343
    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • Thanks very much Paul,  that sounds pretty much it... love that Cm7..!

    TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche   TO BE IS TO DO - Kant   DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7670

    You can throw in alternates higher up, so the GM7 is x 10 12 11 12 10 / Em7 is x79787 / Am 575555 / D7 - 10 12 10 11 10 10 and Cm7 - 8 10 8 8 8 8
    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • I like the inversion of 7th chords that puts the 3rd on the A string, and omits the root on the 6th. Especially nice if you play it as a 9th for that 'Stormy Monday' chord.

    e.g. for D7, play: x 9 10 9 10 x
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  • Yes, very nice Paul... I like that GM7 and the D7 at the 10th fret in particular. These chords are relatively new to me and lovely to play, certainly giving my fingers a good workout too! Thanks very much for your help with these, I really appreciate it...


    TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche   TO BE IS TO DO - Kant   DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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  • Thanks Matt... that's a lovely and very handy D7 ( x 9 10 9 10 x), and as a chord shape in itself it's great that it's movable up and down the entire neck... I'm learning a lot!

    TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche   TO BE IS TO DO - Kant   DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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  • Other nice inversions are playing with the 3rd in the bass on the 6th string, e.g.

    for Em7 you could play: 3 x 2 4 3 x or for Emaj7, 4 x 2 4 4 x.  Add open top E if you like.
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  • HansiR said:
    Yes, very nice Paul... I like that GM7 and the D7 at the 10th fret in particular. These chords are relatively new to me and lovely to play, certainly giving my fingers a good workout too! Thanks very much for your help with these, I really appreciate it...

    You wha? G-7 (or Gm7), or Gmaj7 pleez. GM7 is used by people who don't understand that the difference between upper or lower case is not always easy to distinguish in handwriting ... in any case I'd read Gm or GM as G minor, but I suspect you mean Gmaj.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7670

    That was my "mistake", not HansiR's.
    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • Paul_C said:

    That was my "mistake", not HansiR's.
    OK, don't let it happen again ;)
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • Paul_C said:

    That was my "mistake", not HansiR's.
    OK, don't let it happen again ;)
    I personally had no trouble at all understanding GM7 meant major... as major usually means large, first, more important, etc. as in major league or major injuries as opposed to minor ones, I interpreted a capitol 'M' as being major and a lower case 'm' as representing minor.... 

    TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche   TO BE IS TO DO - Kant   DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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  • Matt_McG said:
    Other nice inversions are playing with the 3rd in the bass on the 6th string, e.g.

    for Em7 you could play: 3 x 2 4 3 x or for Emaj7, 4 x 2 4 4 x.  Add open top E if you like.
    Thanks very much Matt...  I really enjoy playing chords like these and I now, thanks to you and the other guys, have quite a few new ones to memorize! Cheers for those...

    TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche   TO BE IS TO DO - Kant   DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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  • bigjonbigjon Frets: 680
    Hi HansiR, when this forum started I did 200 weekly Chord Of The Week posts, they are all indexed at
    http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/598/chord-of-the-week-index
    Happy browsing!
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  • Hey, many thanks BigJon... wow, 200 posts! I think I'll keep that link for looking up chord variations but try to learn the new chords in this post first... at a first glance I'm hoping that I already know many (well, some at least!) of the chords shown in your 200 posts, but I can see that there are some very difficult, finger-breaking, widow-making, chords listed too...I think  I've got a long road ahead of me!

    TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche   TO BE IS TO DO - Kant   DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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