chord advice....

[goodbyebluesky]

Hey guys.... need some help with some chords that will fit with what I have.
I got a song I wrote, and it current only has 3 chords total.
Verse uses these 2 chords (capo 3rd fret)
|--3---x--|
|--3---3--|
|--0---0--|
|--2---2--|
|--3---2--|
|---------|

Essentially, a Cadd9 to Em7. And then the chorus uses an Am to Cadd9

Whats a 4th, or even 5th chord I could add to this so its not a three chord song? I toyed around with an F, it sounds too straight for this song but doesn't sound funny. Dm sounded horrible.
I thought about using a G but should that work in this key??? It starts off with the Cadd9, btw.

Any rhythm guitar gurus out there, advise me.

 

[Hugo H]

depending on the mood, these can work:
C to Em to G (I-III-V)
C to Em to Am (I-III-VI)
C to Dm to Em (I-II-III)
C to Am to G (I-VI-V)
C to Am to F (I-VI-IV)

what 'flavor' you use (Cadd9, etc) is up to you.

 

[famous beagle]

What key is the song in? By those two chords, it would seem the song is in the key of Em, even though it starts on a C. That's a very common progression in Em (or its relative G major), but not so common in C.

Can you tell what key the song's in from the melody?

We'll need to know the key before we can suggest some more chord possibilities.

 

[up-fiddler]

Try an F7add9 (Played on the 8th fret if guitar is the weapon of choice) It sounded good, yet different, to me. Dave

 

[jfrog]

F6/9 ....the top 2 strings stay the same for continuity, but the F adds some tension:

|--3---x--|
|--3---3--|
|--2---2--|
|--3---2--|
|---------|
|---------|

add the top string to your Em7:

|--3--|
|--3--|
|--0--|
|--2--|
|--2--|
|-----|

 

[goodbyebluesky]

Thanks for the ideas. I will try them out when I can whip out the guit for more than a couple minutes.
I guess even though it starts on C its really in Em (like somebody above mentioned), so thats why the Dm sounded bad I guess.
The Cadd9 to Em chord change sounds very very cool to my ears, and I want to continue that vibe.

What key is the song in? By those two chords, it would seem the song is in the key of Em, even though it starts on a C. That's a very common progression in Em (or its relative G major), but not so common in C.

Can you tell what key the song's in from the melody?

We'll need to know the key before we can suggest some more chord possibilities

Well, The chorus (which includes an A minor) has the following notes:
b, c, d, e, g

 

[famous beagle]

Thanks for the ideas. I will try them out when I can whip out the guit for more than a couple minutes.
I guess even though it starts on C its really in Em (like somebody above mentioned), so thats why the Dm sounded bad I guess.
The Cadd9 to Em chord change sounds very very cool to my ears, and I want to continue that vibe.


Well, The chorus (which includes an A minor) has the following notes:
b, c, d, e, g

Yeah it sounds as though the song is in E minor. C to Em (or Em to C) is a common i - bVI relationship.

Some other diatonic chords that would work would be G or D.

Some secondary dominant chords you might want to try would be A7 or B7.

The Fadd9 or Fsus2 that's been mentioned is a nice non-diatonic one as well.

Here are some possible progressions using these other chords you might want to try:

||: Cadd9 Em7 | G A7 :||

||: Cadd9 Em7 | B7 Cadd9 | A7 Cadd9 | B7 Em :||

||: Cadd9 Em7 | D G | B7 C | A7sus4 A7 :||

||: Cadd9 Em7 | A7 C | B7 Em | Fmaj9(no 3rd)* :||


* I almost hesitate to list this chord, because it's kind of "my baby." Although I'm sure other people have played it before, I personally haven't heard anyone else play this particular voicing:

Fmaj9(no 3rd)

1|---0---|
2|---1---| (1)
3|---0---|
4|---3---| (4)
5|---3---| (3)
6|---1---| (thumb)


Anyway, these may be way off the mark. Without hearing the actual song, it's hard to say. But hopefully some of these will spark something.

Good luck

 

[goodbyebluesky]

Yeah it sounds as though the song is in E minor. C to Em (or Em to C) is a common i - bVI relationship.

Some other diatonic chords that would work would be G or D.

Some secondary dominant chords you might want to try would be A7 or B7.

The Fadd9 or Fsus2 that's been mentioned is a nice non-diatonic one as well.

Here are some possible progressions using these other chords you might want to try:

||: Cadd9 Em7 | G A7 :||

||: Cadd9 Em7 | B7 Cadd9 | A7 Cadd9 | B7 Em :||

||: Cadd9 Em7 | D G | B7 C | A7sus4 A7 :||

||: Cadd9 Em7 | A7 C | B7 Em | Fmaj9(no 3rd)* :||


* I almost hesitate to list this chord, because it's kind of "my baby." Although I'm sure other people have played it before, I personally haven't heard anyone else play this particular voicing:

Fmaj9(no 3rd)

1|---0---|
2|---1---| (1)
3|---0---|
4|---3---| (4)
5|---3---| (3)
6|---1---| (thumb)


Anyway, these may be way off the mark. Without hearing the actual song, it's hard to say. But hopefully some of these will spark something.

Good luck

Thank you thank you. Lots of good ideas. And funny you mention A7 I use this (below) voicing of it in my song, just in passing. I love it!
|---3--|
|---3--|
|---0--|
|---2--|
|---0--|
|------|

I dig your fmaj9 fingering you got there. I didnt even know what to call that but a friend of mine (www.myspace.com/paintedredlions) uses something like that in a song he wrote, like this:
|---0----0--0-0--|
|---1----1--1-1--|
|---2p0--0--0-0--|
|---3----3--3-3--|
|---3----3--3-3--|
|-----------------|

 

[famous beagle]

yeah that's pretty much the same chord, just without the low F bass note. I love it. It's popped up in two or three of my songs.

Oh, and technically, you've got an A7sus4 there (because the D is on the 2nd string). That's a nice one too; it sounds especially nice if you resolve it to A7 and then to C.