Wondering if anyone knows what chords he's playing

[jblue212]

I love this song and I'm trying to learn how to play it. I'm a beginner so it's hard for me to tell just from listening what is going on. I have chords that I found online - Fm7, C, Cadd2, G - but I feel like something else is going on there.
Can someone tell?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQZvvBe7r64

[Yeah]

looks like those are the main chords, although he does som hammer on with the middle finger, you should give it a few listens and work it on your own

[Yeah]

looks like those are the main chords, although he does som hammer on with the middle finger, you should give it a few listens and work it on your own to find your personal version

[mchalebk]

That's an Fmaj7, not Fm7. With both the Fmaj7 and the C chord, he regularly opens up either the 3rd string (Fmaj7) or 4th string (C) to add in the sus2 of the chord and hammers back on to go back to the Fmaj7 or C.

I haven't watched that much of the video, but I don't see him playing a standard G chord. I see him playing the following fingering: X20010. Kind of a G substitute chord, which is probably called something like Em7add6/B.

There's also an occasional Am.

[jblue212]

Thank you! That's helpful. (And yeah, I meant Fmaj7 - just a typo there...)

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by mchalebk

I haven't watched that much of the video, but I don't see him playing a standard G chord. I see him playing the following fingering: X20010. Kind of a G substitute chord, which is probably called something like Em7add6/B.

There's also an occasional Am.

Yes - I think the "G" chord is 320010, and works as a passing chord to the quick Am (before the F), but giving a descending bass on the 5th string (C-B-A).

For the OP -
It's common enough thing to do and would normally be played as C - G/B (x20003) - Am. It's just a little unusual that he's leaving the C on the 1st string, so you get a distinctive dissonance on that chord (no big deal).

[jblue212]

That 320010 threw me - couldn't really tell what he was doing. Thanks so much!

[mchalebk]

Originally Posted by JonPR

Yes - I think the "G" chord is 320010, and works as a passing chord to the quick Am (before the F), but giving a descending bass on the 5th string (C-B-A).

I never hear the low G in that chord, which is why I indicated X20010. I keep hearing the B bass note and he runs to the Am (though he doesn't always keep going down). Really seems like a C/B, but he also opens up the 4th string, which adds a D note to the chord. I figure it doesn't really matter if it's a G, C/B or Em variant, just need to know how to play it.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by mchalebk

I never hear the low G in that chord, which is why I indicated X20010. I keep hearing the B bass note and he runs to the Am (though he doesn't always keep going down).

I agree the B is the point of the chord, but you can clearly see he keeps his ring finger on the G (from the previous chord) - even if he doesn't accent it much as he plays.

Originally Posted by mchalebk

Really seems like a C/B, but he also opens up the 4th string, which adds a D note to the chord. I figure it doesn't really matter if it's a G, C/B or Em variant, just need to know how to play it.

Right. The descending bass line is the point, and the other notes in the chord are fairly arbitrary, chosen to make the change easiest (least finger movement).