'Easy' pop transcription - not sure if I'm getting it right here.

allen

I have found this song a bit tricky to get an instant idea of. So today I've sat down for 15 minutes and gave it a good effort.

I'm sticking to a system of not slowing it down at all, listening to the music in real time to develop my ear.

Unofficial video so key might not be right:


Official video, but has an annoying long intro:


Sort of started thinking that this is in D, but have now shifted my view to Bm

Verse

Bm/D back and forth

Pre-chorus

G/A back and forth

Chorus (power chord stabs)

Big D stab/D -> Bm/D -> Bm/D -> A/D -> A (might have slightly lost count of the back and forth on this)

That's roughly it. There's a middle 8 and I haven't got my guitar in front of me now, but I think it's just G/A back and forth with a Bm thrown in somewhere.

When I listen to it the B minors doesn't really sound right when I do them at the 7th fret, but sounds better at the 2nd fret. So I'm wondering if this is a different chord altogether.

digitalkettle

After a quick listen, it sounds like a four chord wonder to me: G D Bm D A D A D

 In fact, the D chords aren’t that important…so it’s a three chord wonder: G Bm A A

Key of B minor sounds right enough…classic aeolian progression. It’s pretty much the end section of ‘stairway’ up a tone, innit?

stickyfiddle

I'm hearing everything other than the choruses (i.e. intro, verse etc) as:

G - D - Bm - D - A - D - A - D... 

Where each G/Bm/A is on the 1 each D is on the "and of the 3" of each bar. 

Danny1969

 Listened once and found Bm to be the "home key" 
So charted it as 

Intro 6 - 6 - 1m - 1m - 7 - 7 - 7 - 7

Verse 6 - 6 - 1m - 7 - 7  - 6 - 1m - 7 -7 

Bridge 6 - 1m - 7 - 7 - 6 - 1m - 7 - 7

Chorus 6 - 1m - 7 - 7 repeat

The chords are pedalling off a D note for the the most part but Bm is the home key to me 

allen

stickyfiddle said:

I'm hearing everything other than the choruses (i.e. intro, verse etc) as:

G - D - Bm - D - A - D - A - D... 

Where each G/Bm/A is on the 1 each D is on the "and of the 3" of each bar. 

Yes, that's it.

Bit annoyed with myself for not hearing that G. Now that I play it back with the recording it's pretty obvious. I've done this before mistaking one chord for another. I could understand it a bit more if I was confusing the major and relative minor, but it's not that.

Oh well, I'll keep practicing!

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

viz

stickyfiddle said:

I'm hearing everything other than the choruses (i.e. intro, verse etc) as:

G - D - Bm - D - A - D - A - D... 

Where each G/Bm/A is on the 1 each D is on the "and of the 3" of each bar. 

And the choruses, right?

Yeah it’s in Bm, and the chords are just G Bm A A, all the way through, with a cheeky D chord between each main chord.

As per SF DK and D1969 have said, so I don’t know why I’ve popped in to say the same thing. 

digitalkettle

viz said:
…

As per SF DK and D1969 have said, so I don’t know why I’ve popped in to say the same thing. 

Well…you’re welcome…I find it reassuring

allen

By the way, I do like that chorus guitar riff/sound with the D between each main chord. Great song imho.