Bluegrass Learning Jam at Harry’s Guitar Shop

Handouts for May through August 2017

Introduction to “Chord Numbers”

Songs:

Carolina Mountain Home (key of D, or “key of C” with capo on second fret)

Little Maggie (key of G)

Love Please Come Home (key of A, or “key of G” with capo on second fret)

The Old Home Place (key of A, or “key of G” with capo on second fret)

Tennessee Waltz (keys of D, C, and G)

Wagon Wheel (key of A, or “key of G” with capo on second fret)

Instrumentals:

Cherokee Shuffle (key of A, or “key of G” with capo on second fret)

Devil’s Dream (key of A, or “key of G” with capo on second fret)

Introduction to “Chord Numbers” The II (two) chord

In Part 1, we talked about using Roman numerals to refer to the

I (one), IV (four), and V (five) chord changes we frequently encounter

in bluegrass and other types of music. In Part 2, we talked about

using the lowercase Roman numeral “vi” to refer to the minor six

chord, also called the relative minor chord.

Now, we’ll add an additional chord change to the chart on the

next page—the two chord. In many songs, the two chord is a minor

chord (ii), but in other songs, it’s a major chord (II).

Examples of songs and instrumentals that use a “minor two

chord” (ii) are “Devil’s Dream,” “Whiskey Before Breakfast,” “You

Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” and “Steam-Powered Aereo Plane.”

Examples of songs and instrumentals that use a “major two

chord” (II) are “Blackberry Blossom,” “Sailor’s Hornpipe,” “Life is

Like a Mountain Railway,” and “The Old Home Place."

Introduction to “Chord Numbers” The III (three) chord

In Part 1, we talked about using Roman numerals to refer to the

I (one), IV (four), and V (five) chord changes we frequently encounter

in bluegrass and other types of music. In Part 2, we talked about

using the lowercase Roman numeral “vi” to refer to the minor six

chord, also called the relative minor chord. Next, we talked about the

ii (two) chord, and now we’ll add the III (three) chord to our chart

and play some songs that demonstrate it.

In many songs, the three chord is a major chord (III), but

sometimes occurs as a minor chord (iii). The three chord is often

played as a “seventh” chord (also called a “dominant seventh”); for

example, B7 in the key of G, or E7 in the key of C.

Some examples of songs and instrumentals that use a three (III)

chord are “The Old Home Place,” “Tennessee Waltz,” “Cheyenne,”

and “Dixie Hoedown.”

Introduction to “Chord Numbers”

The VII♭ (flat seven) chord

In Part 1, we talked about using Roman numerals to refer to the

I (one), IV (four), and V (five) chord changes we frequently encounter

in bluegrass and other types of music. In Part 2, we talked about

using the lowercase Roman numeral “vi” to refer to the minor six

chord, also called the relative minor chord. Next, we added the II

(two) chord and the III (three) chord to our chart and played some

songs that demonstrate it. Now we’ll add the VII♭ (flat seven) chord

to our chart.

In bluegrass, folk, and country music, the VII♭ (flat seven)

chord is very common, and lends a “bluesy” or “lonesome” sound to a

chord progression. In fact, the VII♭ (flat seven) chord (for example,

an F chord in the key of G) is so common, and the “regular seven”

chord (for example, an F♯ chord in the key of G) is so rare, that

sometimes in jams, players may just say “seven” when they actually

mean the “flat seven” chord.

Some examples of the many bluegrass songs and instrumentals

that use a VII♭ (flat seven) chord are “Little Maggie,” “Love Please

Come Home,” “Salt Creek,” “Old Joe Clark,” “Wheel Hoss,” “June

Apple,” “Big Mon,” and “Over the Waterfall.”

Key Chord Numbers (Chord Changes)

I II III IV V vi VII♭

G G A B C D Em F

A A B C# D E F#m G

C C D E F G Am B♭

D D E F# G A Bm C

Carolina Mountain Home

(Key of D) by L. Wright & E. Scarborough Verse-Chorus

If you use a capo on the second fret to play in the key of D, then you’ll use the C, F, and G

chord shapes for this song.

Verse:

D ● G ●

D ● ● ●

D ● ● ●

A ● ● ●

D ● G ●

D ● ● ●

D ● A ●

D ● ● ●

Chorus:

G ● ● ●

D ● ● ●

D ● ● ●

A ● ● ●

D ● G ●

D ● ● ●

D ● A ●

D ● ● ●

Carolina Mountain Home

by L. Wright & E. Scarborough Verse-Chorus

I left my old home back in the mountains,

For many long years I roamed around.

I can hear that lonesome whistle blowing,

I’m going back there to settle down

Chorus:

I love those Carolina mountains,

And the little girl I left behind.

But I know I’ll never forget her,

Oh how I long to make her mine.

I looked out my window and wondered

If everything there looked the same.

I can see the blue eyes of my darling,

I’m going back there to change her name.

Little Maggie

(Key of G) Traditional Verses only (no Chorus)

Verse and Chorus (same chords for both):

G ● ● ●

F ● ● ●

G ● D ●

G ● ● ●

G ● ● ●

F ● ● ●

G ● D ●

G ● ● ●

Over yonder stands Little Maggie, With a dram glass in her hand. She’s drinking away her troubles And courting some other man. Oh how can I ever stand it

Just to see those two blue eyes, A-shining in the moonlight Like two diamonds in the sky. March me down to the station, Suitcase in my hand. I’m going away Little Maggie, I’m going to some far, lonely land.

Pretty flowers were made for blooming, And pretty stars were made for shine, Pretty women were made for loving, Little Maggie was made for mine. The last time I saw Little Maggie,

She was sitting on the banks of the sea With a .44 buckled around her And a banjo on her knee. Go on, go on, Little Maggie, Go and do the best that you can. Gonna get me another woman, You can get you another man.

Love Please Come Home

(Key of A) by Leon Jackson Verse-Chorus

Verse and Chorus (same chords for both):

A ● ● ●

A ● G ●

D ● ● ●

A ● ● ●

D ● ● ●

A ● ● ●

A ● E ●

A ● ● ●

Chorus:

Sweetheart I beg you to come home tonight,

I’m so blue and all alone.

I promise that I’ll treat you right,

Love oh love, oh please come home.

Verses:

As you read this letter that I write to you,

Sweetheart I hope you understand,

That you’re the only love I knew,

Please forgive me if you can.

That old wind is cold and slowly creeping around,

And the fire is burning low.

The snow has covered up the ground,

Our baby’s hungry, sick, and cold.

Love Please Come Home

(Key of A, capo 2) by Leon Jackson Verse-Chorus

Verse and Chorus (same chords for both):

G ● ● ●

G ● F ●

C ● ● ●

G ● ● ●

C ● ● ●

G ● ● ●

G ● D ●

G ● ● ●

Chorus:

Sweetheart I beg you to come home tonight,

I’m so blue and all alone.

I promise that I’ll treat you right,

Love oh love, oh please come home.

Verses:

As you read this letter that I write to you,

Sweetheart I hope you understand,

That you’re the only love I knew,

Please forgive me if you can.

That old wind is cold and slowly creeping around,

And the fire is burning low.

The snow has covered up the ground,

Our baby’s hungry, sick, and cold.

The Old Home Place

(Key of A) by Dean Webb and Mitch Jayne Usually Verse-Verse-Chorus

Verse:

A ● C#7 ●

D ● A ●

A ● ● ●

E ● ● ●

A ● C#7 ●

D ● A ●

A ● E ●

A ● ● ●

Chorus:

E ● ● ●

A ● ● ●

B7 ● ● ●

E ● ● ●

A ● C#7 ●

D ● A ●

A ● E ●

A ● ● ●

The Old Home Place

(Key of A, capo 2) by Dean Webb and Mitch Jayne Usually Verse-Verse-Chorus

Verse:

G ● B7 ●

C ● G ●

G ● ● ●

D ● ● ●

G ● B7 ●

C ● G ●

G ● D ●

G ● ● ●

Chorus:

D ● ● ●

G ● ● ●

A7 ● ● ●

D ● ● ●

G ● B7 ●

C ● G ●

G ● D ●

G ● ● ●

The Old Home Place

by Dean Webb and Mitch Jayne Usually Verse-Verse-Chorus

It’s been ten long years since I left my home,

In the hollow where I was born,

Where the cool fall nights made the wood smoke rise,

And the fox hunter blows his horn

I fell in love with a girl from the town,

I thought that she would be true.

I ran away to Charlottesville,

And worked in a sawmill or two.

Chorus:

What have they done to the old home place?

Why did they tear it down?

And why did I leave my plow in the field,

And look for a job in the town?

Well the girl ran off with somebody else,

The tariffs took all my pay,

And here I stand where the old home stood,

Before they took it away.

Now the geese fly south and the cold wind blows,

As I stand here and hang my head,

I’ve lost my love, I’ve lost my home,

And now I wish that I was dead.

Tennessee Waltz

by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart

(Key of D) 3/4 time Verse/Chorus

Verse:

D ● (D7) G

D ● A ●

D ● (D7) G

D A D ● Chorus:

D F#7 G D

D ● A ●

D ● (D7) G

D A D ●

I was dancing with my darling to the Tennessee Waltz,

When an old friend I happened to see.

I introduced her to my loved one, and as they were dancing,

My friend stole my sweetheart from me.

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz,

Now I know just how much I have lost.

Oh I lost my little darling the night they were playing

The beautiful Tennessee Waltz.

Tennessee Waltz

by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart

(Key of C) 3/4 time Verse/Chorus

Verse:

C ● (C7) F

C ● G ●

C ● (C7) F

C G C ● Chorus:

C E7 F C

C ● G ●

C ● (C7) F

C G C ●

I was dancing with my darling to the Tennessee Waltz,

When an old friend I happened to see.

I introduced her to my loved one, and as they were dancing,

My friend stole my sweetheart from me.

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz,

Now I know just how much I have lost.

Oh I lost my little darling the night they were playing

The beautiful Tennessee Waltz.

Tennessee Waltz

by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart

(Key of G) 3/4 time Verse/Chorus

Verse:

G ● (G7) C

G ● D ●

G ● (G7) C

G D G ● Chorus:

G B7 C G

G ● D ●

G ● (G7) C

G D G ●

I was dancing with my darling to the Tennessee Waltz,

When an old friend I happened to see.

I introduced her to my loved one, and as they were dancing,

My friend stole my sweetheart from me.

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz,

Now I know just how much I have lost.

Oh I lost my little darling the night they were playing

The beautiful Tennessee Waltz.

Wagon Wheel

(Key of A) by Ketch Secor and Bob Dylan Verse-Chorus

Verse and Chorus (same chords for both):

A ● E ●

F#m ● D ●

A ● E ●

D ● ● ●

Chorus:

So rock me Mama like a wagon wheel,

Rock me Mama any way you feel,

Hey, Mama rock me.

Rock me Mama like the wind and the rain,

Rock me Mama like a south bound train,

Hey, Mama rock me.

Wagon Wheel

(Key of A, capo 2) by Ketch Secor and Bob Dylan Verse-Chorus

Verse and Chorus (same chords for both):

G ● D ●

Em ● C ●

G ● D ●

C ● ● ●

Chorus:

So rock me Mama like a wagon wheel,

Rock me Mama any way you feel,

Hey, Mama rock me.

Rock me Mama like the wind and the rain,

Rock me Mama like a south bound train,

Hey, Mama rock me.

Cherokee Shuffle

(Key of A) Traditional AABB

There’s some variation in the chord changes players use for Cherokee

Shuffle, but these chords are probably the most common. The B part of this

tune contains 10 measures (instead of the usual 8, like in most fiddle tunes),

so the timing can be a little tricky until you get familiar with it.

A part:

A ● ● ●

A ● F#m ●

D ● A ●

E ● A ●

B part:

D ● A ●

D ● A ●

D ● A ●

A ● F#m ●

E ● A ●

Cherokee Shuffle

(Key of A, capo 2) Traditional AABB

There’s some variation in the chord changes players use for Cherokee

Shuffle, but these chords are probably the most common. The B part of this

tune contains 10 measures (instead of the usual 8, like in most fiddle tunes),

so the timing can be a little tricky until you get familiar with it.

A part:

G ● ● ●

G ● Em ●

C ● G ●

D ● G ●

B part:

C ● G ●

C ● G ●

C ● G ●

G ● Em ●

D ● G ●

Devil’s Dream

(Key of A) Traditional AABB

A part:

A ● ● ●

Bm ● ● ●

A ● ● ●

Bm ● E A

B part:

A ● ● ●

Bm ● ● ●

A ● ● ●

Bm ● E A

Devil’s Dream

(Key of A, capo 2) Traditional AABB

A part:

G ● ● ●

Am ● ● ●

G ● ● ●

Am ● D G

B part:

G ● ● ●

Am ● ● ●

G ● ● ●

Am ● D G