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gordo1100 - Posted - 06/14/2023: 03:41:08
Hello Friends,
I have been working on this John Hartford tune thanks to Jim Pankey and his awesome video.
Can someone explain why this tune is listed as being in the key of D?
It seems to me that it is G.
The Chords are G-Am-C-G. For the verse
And Am,G,Am,G,Am,G,Am,D
For the chorus
mmuussiiccaall - Posted - 06/14/2023: 03:57:37
John tuned down so it changed to many keys all depending on his mood and the banjo in his hands.
Norand - Posted - 06/14/2023: 04:03:22
Completely agree that it goes in G. Your chord-scheme in the verse looks similar to what I use.
I usually think the chorus as
Am - Bm - Am - G - Am - Bm - C - D7.
But sometimes it's fun to add colour by changing some of those chords to other chords. Especially if you play with others.
If you pick the 5th string on top of the Bm it functions as Bmadd13 and that sounds spicy and nice as well.
banjoy - Posted - 06/14/2023: 04:55:40
Given the chords you listed, it's definitely in the key of G.
I've played this for years in G. It's never been played anywhere by anybody in any other key when I've been there jamming to it. As pointed out above, though, maybe Hartford had his banjo tuned down to open D and it was tabbed out as if in G, but that adds to confusion about Keys in general. If the tabber intended it to be in D, it should have been tabbed in D.
But I just spot-checked several YT videos of Hartford picking it and he's in G.
Edited by - banjoy on 06/14/2023 04:56:37
Old Hickory - Posted - 06/14/2023: 06:09:19
Where is the song listed as being in D?
Are you looking at a banjo tab? Maybe it was tabbed out by someone who doesn't know how to identify the key of a song and simply looked at the final chord.
sunburst - Posted - 06/14/2023: 07:37:09
I thought John Hartford played it with the banjo tuned down to E, as noted by Rick above, perhaps it was D...
John Hartford, like some others of us, had a low pitched voice and became frustrated trying to sing in typical Bluegrass and banjo keys. Unlike many others of us, he wrote Gentle On My Mind and was pretty much able to do as he pleased having those residuals to rely on, so he did mostly solo gigs and tuned his banjo down to match his voice.
When the tune comes up in jam sessions it is invariably played on G because most of us invariably have our banjos tuned in G.
banjoy - Posted - 06/14/2023: 07:51:25
John did a lot of tunes with the banjo tuned down to open E. Seeing that there are two versions in this thread -- one at a live gig in open E, the other an album release version in open G -- I'm guessing he just played it where he was at in that moment. It's way too much time and effort to re-tune a banjo mid-set. No one wants to hear that! At most jam sessions or gigs you're more likely to hear it in G, but your mileage may vary (obviously!)
... and when in G he always ended with an F chord, which most folks drop or don't realize he did ... but its' there, how he ends the tune ...
banjoy - Posted - 06/14/2023: 08:02:34
...and one final comment and then I'll shut up.
In Part B I'm hearing a lot of major 7th's happening. Of course Am and Bm are easily overlayed or substituted by Fmaj7 or Gmaj7, it won't make any functional difference in which you use. It's all still tasty to me.
gordo1100 - Posted - 06/14/2023: 08:39:20
Thanks all!
The reason why I am questioning this is because I Googled “Key and BPM” for this song and I got a website called “TuneBat”.
It said there that the song was in D
I guess you can’t believe everything you read on the internet!!!!!
Ks_5-picker - Posted - 06/14/2023: 18:42:55
I like to use the Newgrass revival chord pattern,I think I hear the G maj7 instead of Bm.
I can only rarely talk anyone into playing it that way in a jam though.
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 06/15/2023: 06:39:23
quote:
Originally posted by Ks_5-picker
I like to use the Newgrass revival chord pattern,I think I hear the G maj7 instead of Bm.
I can only rarely talk anyone into playing it that way in a jam though.
You don't need to get everyone doing it; just the bass player.
;^)
I'm thinking that some folks are saying it's in D because D is the last chord in the progression, which almost always is the root. Not here, though. (Another example would be "Friend of the Devil", which also ends on the 5 chord.)
Ks_5-picker - Posted - 06/15/2023: 06:46:13
It’s,you’re right of course.
I also suggest that they hang onto the Am two extra beats then end the first half of the verse with the C chord but inevitably they’ll hit the 5 chord there too.
It’s just little things that keep music from becoming good music. I’m too picky.
mmuussiiccaall - Posted - 06/15/2023: 07:33:09
The last chord is a Dm7 to a Dm9 with the bass rocking back and forth from D and A. Nothing to do with the key, seems to be an aural attempt to mimic flapping bird wings.
banjoy - Posted - 06/15/2023: 07:40:59
To clarify, I think some folks here are talking about the last chord of Part B, and some are talking about the last chord of the song.
The last chord of Part B is a D. But he ends the song with a G chord and a melodic G run ... then a pause, then an F chord (or Dmin7, either works) which isn't anywhere else in the song. I love John's weird stuff like that, it's pure ear candy. Very few pickers throw in that last F (Dmin7, whatever) chord, talk about trying that at a jam! I throw it in anyway whether anyone else does or not (it's ended anyway, may as well!). To me it's part of the song!
Edited by - banjoy on 06/15/2023 07:43:28
mmuussiiccaall - Posted - 06/16/2023: 06:55:53
quote:
Originally posted by gordo1100
Thanks all!
The reason why I am questioning this is because I Googled “Key and BPM” for this song and I got a website called “TuneBat”.
It said there that the song was in D
I guess you can’t believe everything you read on the internet!!!!!
Maybe TuneBat had this version in mind
google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEd...DsLPkaRbw
