One-chord-progression songs suitable for jams or encores

HAL9000 · September 2015

harpo;585123" said:
Also People get ready shouldn't be in the list as there's two minor chords thrown in on the line "don't need no ticket '

So .if we're in D the chords would be F#m and Em

You're absolutely right - but I have heard it played both ways and both work OK.

bigjon · March 2016

"Sit Down" by James is going in : ||E | |A |B ||

Plectrum · March 2016

I can't see Sex On Fire in the list (some may argue that's a good thing LOL

). I think it's just E and C#m all the way through? Even simpler is Smokestack Lightning which just stays on the root E chord. Also I believe Born In The USA is the root B chord all the way through.

bigjon · March 2016

Sex On Fire has an additional A chord at the end of the verse and at the end of each line of the chorus progression, so it's not a one-progression song.

bigjon · March 2016

I haven't bothered including blues songs, in my mind they're a separate category for dipping into at jam-nights etc. I might start a separate discussion one day for pop-songs which are 12-bar blues songs in disguise, I had quite an extensive thread on the go Musicradar back in the day.

Sporky · March 2016

Probably not famous enough, but a fantastic pop song - Too Much Kissing by the Senseless Things. I think it's G E C D

EricTheWeary · March 2016

Did I add Pressure Drop by The Maytalls/ The Specials/ The Clash? F C A# F.

mike_l · March 2016

Keep on rockin' in the free world is just Em-D-C.

viz · March 2016

As is every Iron Maiden song

RedRabbit · March 2016

mike_l;995373" said:
Keep on rockin' in the free world is just Em-D-C.

That's just the verse. The chorus is G D C Em and the 4 bars of A to take it back to the verse.

mike_l · March 2016

viz said:

As is every Iron Maiden song

Fear of the Dark isn't.

Nor is sanctuary.........

HAL9000 · April 2016

Abracadabra by the Steve Miller Band...

Gm | Cm | D7#9 | Gm

bigjon · April 2016

HAL9000;1036399" said:
Abracadabra by the Steve Miller Band...

Gm | Cm | D7#9 | Gm

I do it at jams (in Am) but there are some variations on the progression through the song which have to be strategically ignored.

HAL9000 · May 2016

2-4-6-8 Motorway by Tom Robinson Band
A | E | D..E11 | A |

BoopDeWoop · June 2016

bigjon said:

"Sit Down" by James is going in : ||E | |A |B ||

That's also I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers. Exactly the same.

Also I play Free Falling as ||D | |G | |G D A|

bigjon · July 2016

BoopDeWoop;1133285" said:
bigjon said:

"Sit Down" by James is going in : ||E | |A |B ||

That's also I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers. Exactly the same.

It only works for the chorus of 500 Miles - the verse has a different progression (using the same chords) of ||E | |A B |E ||

Moss · July 2016

Something slightly more obscure -

You Wanted A Hit - LCD Soundsystem - C | Am | Em

Danny1969 · August 2016

A few I've been gig'ing recently

Higher & Higher (Your Love is lifting me) Jackie Wilson .... Something like D \ G \ Em all the way through

Stop - Ed Sheeran No idea what key but something like Em \ Bm \ C \ D progression all the way through

What'cha gonna do about it - Small Faces - E to D all the way through more or less

JayGee · August 2016

Have we got Zombie by The Cranberries yet?

Em | C | G | G/F#

...well, that's the way my bunch do it anyway and it seems to work, although I've seen it tabbed out with the last chord as D/F# in some places..

Plectrum · August 2016

JayGee said:

Have we got Zombie by The Cranberries yet?

Em | C | G | G/F#

...well, that's the way my bunch do it anyway and it seems to work, although I've seen it tabbed out with the last chord as D/F# in some places..

I think its more D/F# than G/F# but with the top 3 strings being played open throughout it's hard to tell. During the over-driven parts he seems to play mostly the lower strings and to my ears it sounds like a D/F# there.

JayGee · August 2016

Plectrum said:

JayGee said:

Have we got Zombie by The Cranberries yet?

Em | C | G | G/F#

...well, that's the way my bunch do it anyway and it seems to work, although I've seen it tabbed out with the last chord as D/F# in some places..

I think its more D/F# than G/F# but with the top 3 strings being played open throughout it's hard to tell. During the over-driven parts he seems to play mostly the lower strings and to my ears it sounds like a D/F# there.

You know, I don't think I've ever actually tried to work out what it actually is, all I know is that I'm starting at something G-ish (or sometimes a G5) and going to an F# in the bass so I just kind of assumed it was an F#/G - this probably comes under the heading of knowing just enough to be properly dangerous... :-)

Anyway, one simple chord progression, most people will have heard it, strong jam night tune I reckon!

viz · August 2016

It's based on a i VI III VII; the 4th chord is a D 1st inversion with a load of extra ringing notes.

I assume it's played as all open strings apart from the F# on the bottom string? In which case it's D/F# add 4 add 6 add 9 or something! Someone better than me at chord notation will tell us

JayGee said:
I'm starting at something G-ish (or sometimes a G5) and going to an F# in the bass so I just kind of assumed it was an F#/G

Btw, if you're playing G but with an F# in the bass that'd be G/F# rather than F#/G, but it's a very unusual chord.

JayGee · August 2016

viz said:

It's based on a i VI III VII; the 4th chord is a D 1st inversion with a load of extra ringing notes.

I assume it's played as all open strings apart from the F# on the bottom string? In which case it's D/F# add 4 add 6 add 9 or something! Someone better than me at chord notation will tell us

JayGee said:
I'm starting at something G-ish (or sometimes a G5) and going to an F# in the bass so I just kind of assumed it was an F#/G

Btw, if you're playing G but with an F# in the bass that'd be G/F# rather than F#/G, but it's a very unusual chord.

I refer the honorable gentleman to my sig and will go back to just kind of moving my fingers around at random until I get a noise I like... :-)

bigjon · September 2016

I've added Zombie by The Cranberries to the main list on page 1 and discussed the D/F# chord as this week's chord of the week at
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/84561/chord-of-the-week-10-9-16-a-dadd9add11-f-arpeggio-from-zombie-by-the-cranberries
I took an example at 1:09 in the official video where the bass note, distorted rhythm guitar and clean guitar arpeggio overdub can be combined into one Dadd9add11/F# chord 254030.

viz · September 2016

You are thechordmeister.

Grunfeld · October 2016

Paulo Nutini -- "Candy"
Which you've probably heard even if you don't "know" it (it surprised me at any rate)
Easy to play but difficult to jam unless there's a singer who's au fait wit the lyrics
You can get all the way through an intro, a couple of verses, a couple of choruses, a solo, and right up to the outro on:

Am / Em/ G/ D7

And the outro was only tagged on as an afterthought anyway, or I'm a Dutchman.

bigjon · October 2016

Just heard 'Where is the love' by Black-Eyed Peas on the radio - ||F . . . |C . . . |Dm . . . |Bb . . . || - not sure if it's got enough longevity to go on the main list.

bigjon · November 2016

I doubt this one will last long enough to go on the main list, but I'm definitely going to break it out at the jazz-funk jam while people still remember it from 2014. Just done Chord Of The Week for the D/E in 'Fireball' by Pitbull ft. John Ryan - ||E . D/E . || throughout and the bassline is E for a beat then B and D for half a beat each repeated.

HAL9000 · January 2017

Already Gone by The Eagles - G | D | C | C |

OK, I know The Eagles throw in a Bb from time to time on that second C, but can certainly manage without it.

HAL9000 · January 2017

Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd. C | G | Am | Am7 |

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One-chord-progression songs suitable for jams or encores

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