Perhaps the most important aspect of knowing chord relationships
is being able to recognize a progression by hearing it. Camp song
guitar chords are the ideal place to start.
Guitar players often spend hours learning new chords without
developing the ability to listen to the sound of each chord.
Whether you're composing, arranging. or learning, you'll benefit
by having a solid grasp of theory to help your ear.
The best way to start developing educated ears is with two chord
camp song guitar chords. By limiting your initial repertoire
to songs that only contain two chords we have greatly increased
our chance of success.
Playing songs "by ear" is really a process of improving our
ability to recall sound. Our ear simply sits on the side of our
head and picks up signals, it is our memory that records the
sound. How well we can play "by ear" is a matter of training, in
fact, anyone can learn to do it!
Here is a list of the 2 main chords in each key:
Tonic (key) Dominant
Chord 1 Chord 5
C ----------- G7
F ----------- C7
Bb --------- F7
Eb -------- Bb7
Ab -------- Eb7
Db -------- Ab7
Gb -------- Db7
B ---------- F#7
E ---------- B7
A ---------- E7
D ---------- A7
G ---------- D7
You don't have to learn all of these chords, most camp songs
use the chords in the keys of C, G, D, A and E.
Camp song guitar chords in the keys of G,D,A and E are the
most guitar friendly keys.
Here are some tunes you can play and sing using the two basic
chords.
Try your choices in all the popular guitar keys: G,D A and E.
Experiment to find the best key for your voice. If you find a key
that is a little to low you can always use a capo to raise the
pitch while still retaining the chord shapes you prefer.
Many familiar songs use just these two chords. Here is a list of
some of them. Though you could get the chords out of a book, it's
good training to guess them for yourself. This type of guesswork
is part of life for any musician in "real life" situations, so
now is a good time to start training your ear to become a good
guesser.
Two-Chord Tune list:
Ida Red
Memphis
Kentucky
Jambalaya
Tom Dooley
Buffalo Gals
Casey Jones
Rye Whiskey
Barbara Allen
Skip To My Lou
Little Liza Jane
Deep In THe Heart Of Texas
Be Honest With Me Dear
Take Me Back To Tulsa
My Darlin' Clementine
Convict And The Rose
Pistol Packin' Mama
Go Tell Aunt Rhody
Singin' In The Rain
Down In The Valley
Two Doors Down
Rancho Grande
Tulsa Time
Achy Breaky Heart
Handsome Molly
Shady Grove
John Henry
Little Birdie
Hot Corn Cold Corn
Katy Daley
Fire Ball Mail
Pretty Fair Maid In The Garden
I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky
Jimmie Brown the Newsboy
I'll Go Steppin' Too
You Are My Flower
Stay All Night
Someone Took My Place With You
Wild Bill Jones
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains
Working On A Building
Somehow Tonight
Pretty Polly
On My Mind
The Old Crossroads
Mansions for Me
Where the Soul Never Dies
What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul
Old Gospel Ship
Kentucky Girl
I'm Gonna Love You Like There's No Tomorrow
It Ain't Gonna Rain No More
Reuben's Train /Train 45
Bringing In The Georgia Mail
Darling Corey
I Love You a Thousand Ways
Waltz Across Texas
Puttin' On The Style
Boll Weevil
Shortin' Bread
Will You Be Lonesome Too
Walking in my Sleep
Little Children's Tunes using two chords:
London Bridge
Three blind Mice
Farmer In The Dell
Polly wholly Doodle
He's Got The Whole world In His Hands
Merrily We Roll Along
Froggie Went A'Courtin'
Row Row Row Your Boat
Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me
Many guitarist's don't understand the importance of learning two
chord camp song guitar chords, although it should be obvious
if you can't play two chord songs "by ear", there's little chance
of playing three chord songs.
Now, you are probably thinking, "how do I know which chord to
start on and when do I change chords?"
It's helpful to know that almost all songs start and end with the
one chord, and that the next-to-last chord is almost always five chord.
See if your ear can tell you when to change chords and which chord to
change to. Since at any point there are just two chords to
choose from, a little trial and error might show you the way.
When you think you've got it, memorize it and when you get a
chance, check your chords with a book or a knowledgeable
musician. Remember, this type of guesswork is part of what being
a musician is all about.
Two chord camp song guitar chords are the very best way to
learn to play by ear, see if you can hear as many of the songs on
our list, get some recordings and start developing your ear,
regardless of what style of music you play there's a lot to be
learnt from these simple two chord songs.
