Topic: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
I am looking for songs that follow the simple 1-6-4-5 patter (G, Em, C, and D chords). Examples include "Stay", "Duke of Earl", "At the Hop" etc. Any other suggestions?
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Hi erabbit,I dont know exactly what you are looking for,but you might try some buddy holly,credence clearwater,bob seager neil diamond. These would be more or less in that area. Hope that helps. dino
my papy said son your going too drive me too drinking if you dont stop driving that Hot Rod Lincoln!! Cmdr cody and his lost planet airman
- Turret
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Pearl Jam's 'Last Kiss' might be along the lines of what you're after.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act...it is a habit. Aristotle
- James McCormick
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Hi erabbit & welcome to chordie! This is the sort of site that makes the internet a wonderful resource.
Hop on over to the Songwriting section and check out "Got the Gotta Goes".
I just posted it a few moments ago.
It's a sort of silly little ditty (in the key of G) that uses the 1-6-4-5 chord set. I threw in a 57 (V7) also at the end of each verse, but a regular old 5 would also work just dandy there.
Hope you find it suitable for your needs. James
"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
"Wild Night" by Van Morrison is a good one w/ G, C, D, and Em
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" also basically G, C, D w/ some Em -- easy strum pattern
- zenbutcher
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Led Zeppelin's - D'yer Maker
Ritchie Valens - Donna (and some other's too, I'm sure)
??? - The Lion Sleeps Tonight
- James McCormick
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Purple Rain by Prince!
http://www.chordie.com/chord.pere?url=h … 0McCormick
"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Thanks for all of the help!
- johncub
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
I don't know if it follows the pattern exactly but remember Dream Lover by Bobby Darin? That one seems to fit with the originals you mentioned.
C, Am, C, G, C, F
seems like it might fit.
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Hi erabbit. It looks like you have discovered the 4 chord ballad. Can I suggest Earth Angel, In The Still of the Night and almost any other " Doo Wop " ballad of the 50s and early 60s. Lots of beautiful music in that period. Glad to help with middle 8s if required.
- Russell_Harding
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
hello erabbit 1 6 4 5 songs are also known as "doo wop" songs there are at least a gazillion of these recorded durring the 50ths usually on atlantic records a big one would be "Earth Angel" there is a regular tour of these old doo wop groups some are one hit wonders another example would be the popular song "Duke of Earl" heres a list for you 
http://www.singers.com/doowopsong.html
"Growing old is not for sissies"
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Loads! Try a medley of Stay, Lollipop, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life and Big Girls Don't Cry - all can use the tonic, relative minor, fourth and fifth and are roughly the same tempo, so you can sing along seamlessly!
- Stonebridge
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
"All I Have to do is Dream" - Everly Brothers, comes immediately to mind.
But, as with most songs like this, there is a middle 8 with a different chord progression.
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Also, mate, try the daddy of them all....Teenager in Love! The middle 8 just goes back and forth between the IV and V !!!
- Krapyl
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Ahh, at last I thought! They are explaining 1-6-4-5 or 3rd- 5ths- 7ths, but NO. I can play a lot of them cause I know the chords, I have tried to see if there`s a regular pattern, in witch to play them, but can`t say I find any, exept in barre chords.
Where do you count? In pentatonic scale, i.e. A-C D-E G-A C-D F-G# A-C, will that be 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 or
5-8 5-7 5-7 5-7 5-8 5-8 or is it in C scale C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C how can G Em C D be 1 6 4 5 then?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
This is so confusing that I don`t understand most of what they are teaching in courses, should you count in the spesific scale you are playing or what?
Also, to make a complete fool of myself Is the top line of six, always the high E string, from top E B G D A E ?
I do not expect an easy answer to this, cause I have been wondering for years!
Would also appresiate a link to somewhere they explain this in an understandable way. Hard to be a dyslectic!
Peace Ståle
"give us today our daily b-read"
that means you must write to make it right right? Repent... re-pen-T... re pen Truth
"It's illegal to use a legal name".
Simple as that.
that means you must write to make it right right? Repent... re-pen-T... re pen Truth
"It's illegal to use a legal name".
Simple as that.
- Krapyl
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
S**t! I went up to the Sticky posts, to try to learn, but, I also do not know, how to count in Roman numbers! Get lost after 4 
***edited***(profanity) Russell Harding 1/17/09 17:03 hrs.
"give us today our daily b-read"
that means you must write to make it right right? Repent... re-pen-T... re pen Truth
"It's illegal to use a legal name".
Simple as that.
that means you must write to make it right right? Repent... re-pen-T... re pen Truth
"It's illegal to use a legal name".
Simple as that.
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
I'm so happy I found this thread! Roman is the only way! awesome :-)
spytunes.co.uk - Learn music from the guitars perspective
- Stonebridge
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Krapyl wrote:
Ahh, at last I thought! They are explaining 1-6-4-5 or 3rd- 5ths- 7ths, but NO. I can play a lot of them cause I know the chords, I have tried to see if there`s a regular pattern, in witch to play them, but can`t say I find any, exept in barre chords.
Where do you count? In pentatonic scale, i.e. A-C D-E G-A C-D F-G# A-C, will that be 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 or
5-8 5-7 5-7 5-7 5-8 5-8 or is it in C scale C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C how can G Em C D be 1 6 4 5 then?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
This is so confusing that I don`t understand most of what they are teaching in courses, should you count in the spesific scale you are playing or what?
Also, to make a complete fool of myself
I do not expect an easy answer to this, cause I have been wondering for years!
Would also appresiate a link to somewhere they explain this in an understandable way. Hard to be a dyslectic!
Peace Ståle
It sure is confusing!
1-6-4-5 refers to the notes in the scale of the key you are playing in. It assumes you are using a standard (8 note) octave.
So to answer your question about G Em C D
In the key of G, the major scale is
GABCDEF#G numbered 12345678
1 is G
6 is Em
4 is C
5 is D
If you are playing in the key of C, you have the major scale
CDEFGABC numbered 12345678
1 is C
6 is Am
4 is F
5 is G
The C-Am-F-G is just a typical chord progression that harmonises a very large number of songs in the key of C. If the song is in G then the same progression would be G-Em-C-D.
It was a much used progression in 50s music, and still is today, I suspect.
Your question about scales other than the standard 8 note major and minor scales is more difficult. In my experience, it's possible to number the notes either way, but the most common, for me, has been to always use the 8-note system when indicating which note of the scale a chord is based on.
Even if you use a pentatonic scale for your melody, most musicians will still be thinking in terms of an 8 note scale when it comes to the harmonic structure.
So if you are using a 5-note scale, in C that goes
C-D-E-G-A-C for example, I will still be thinking that this scale only uses the notes numbered 1-2-3-5-6-8. In other words, your tune does not use notes 4 or 7 (F and B) of the scale. It also means that you might want to avoid chords with those 2 notes in, or at least chords based on those notes. However, that is a complex issue. For example, I could imagine harmonising a song using that scale above with a chord based on F (the 4th note of the C major scale) even though the melody never uses that note. For example, the notes A and C in the scale, are both contained in the chord of F major, even though F itself is not in the scale.
The decision is one for you to make. There is no "rule" as such in composition, other than "does it sound ok?". Ultimately, the ear is the judge, not the rulebook.
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- Krapyl
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Hey Stonebridge, thank you for your explanation!
I went back to the sticky posts, and found I can play those scales, I even figured out the roman numbering, I have always wanted to do that, when hearing people practising scales.
I will practise them a little evry day, and hope that my brain, and hands, just knows it automaticly one day.
I also know that its hard to come up with anything original from just using them as they are, but it souns cool just throwing in some of them in and between chords.
You also write Swdish better than me:) I am from Norway, living just across the border.
Best regards
Ståle
"give us today our daily b-read"
that means you must write to make it right right? Repent... re-pen-T... re pen Truth
"It's illegal to use a legal name".
Simple as that.
that means you must write to make it right right? Repent... re-pen-T... re pen Truth
"It's illegal to use a legal name".
Simple as that.
20 2009-01-19 21:44:30 (edited by Stonebridge 2009-01-19 21:45:14)
- Stonebridge
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Krapyl wrote:
Hey Stonebridge, thank you for your explanation!
I went back to the sticky posts, and found I can play those scales, I even figured out the roman numbering, I have always wanted to do that, when hearing people practising scales.
I will practise them a little evry day, and hope that my brain, and hands, just knows it automaticly one day.
I also know that its hard to come up with anything original from just using them as they are, but it souns cool just throwing in some of them in and between chords.
You also write Swdish better than me:) I am from Norway, living just across the border.Best regards
Ståle
Hi Ståle
I lived in Sweden (for about 4 years) many years ago but I still remember and understand the language. I don't know the part of Sweden where you live - I lived in the South East and then up in the North. I have been to Norway, too. Bergen, Voss and the Hardanger Fjord a couple of times on holiday. Norway is a beautiful part of the world.
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Hi first post. hope i can help with this number thang? please keep in mind that this is all to the best of my knowledge and I'm always willing to learn. 1. the number thing ( or the Nashville numbering system) doesn't care what scale you are using or what KEY cause that's the point. It is a way of communicating a chord progression or melody line indifferent to key or scale. It is all about intervals ( the distance in pitch between notes and the basic harmonies ( major, minor and half diminished triads and beyond) above those notes. If you think in these terms it is much easier to transpose songs from one key to another and imo the more important issue is that you see the similarities and differences in chord progression more readily. This is because all the songs you play are now in the same key or any key? they are in the same key? because the Tonic is always (I) and that can represent any starting pitch c,c# d d# ef f# gG#....c2.... How is this done? First the numbering system says we will represent the intervals both horizontal, intervals in( a time line) a melody and vertically, harmony or two or more intervals sounding at the same time ( notice I didn't say notes and all that that implies). our basic ruler will be the Major scale. in C major C=roman numeral Capitol I, D= rn small case ii E= iii F=IV G=V A=vi B=vii C=I. This is getting long I will continue this soon getting into all? that can be done with the system and why it works in current musick that has very little true KEY Identity as was the case back in history. Thanks BB
- Russell_Harding
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Hi bungalow bob I see this is your first post so welcome to Chordie sometimes its easier to understand basic theory from a book as its graded from the beginning and all the information you have provided may be to much for a newbie to digest or comprehend untill they have studied and memorized in smaller increments this information, kind of like learning a new language and music is a language
"Growing old is not for sissies"
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Yes i see your point. Sometime when you live with something running in the background for most of your life you can forget that it took a while to become part of you. Does it make sense to back track a bit or should I let it rest? BB
- Russell_Harding
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Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
BB I'm not sure,backtracking is starting at some point of reference and proceeding anew and moving to where you have been, or in a different direction and arriving at another point.I think you made a good observation when you stated that "sometimes you can live with something running in the background and forget that it took a while to become part of you"but before it was part of you there was a void and knowledge filled it so its second nature to you now, so you can empathize with someone who is just starting a journey you have already taken
"Growing old is not for sissies"
Re: 1-6-4-5 Songs?
Bunglalow Bob
I was interested in your post. Understanding and using chord progressions is extremely useful and I wish there were more postings on the subject
it does require some knowledge of Scales and how chords are constructed but those are only the basic building blocks of music. you can't do much with a scales and chords unless you understand some basics of harmony.
its also really useful for song writing. infact while I'm not a profilic song writer I always start with a chord progression which I know work.
you can't go wrong with I IV V I
well okay, we know it get a bit tedious if all pop songs used this trick but once you know the expected chords in a scale and a few progressions you can begin to experiment
it reminded me that ii and iii were minor !
j