Greetings friends! We’re hitting the big time now. Yes! We’ve got ourselves a four chord song and it has a minor chord. I’m talking about “Stand By Me” but I could be talking about 80% of the mainstream songs from the doo-wop era. This C-Am-F-G chord progression feels right in every way and I’m excited to show it too you. By now you’re somewhat acquainted with the C and G chords so you’re more than half way there. The F chord that we’re taking on isn’t the easiest trick in the book but you can get it…and once you do, you’re very much over the hump as far as challenging open chords go. The Am is quite simple to play yet it sounds deep and mysterious and is closely connected to the C chord (but more on that later). This is social music we’re talking about and Ben E. King's “Stand by Me” is one of those songs that most people are familiar with and love to sing. You can play it quietly during a romantic midnight moment on a park bench (my ideal scenario) or lead a rowdy sing along on a bus ride. It’s flexible, meaningful, and very, very social. Stick with it here because once you’ve got these chords things start to get A LOT easier!
Dan Zanes
Topics and/or subjects covered in this lesson:
Guitar
Print Chords & Tab
Loop 0:00 Run-Through of Stand By Me
When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me
If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me, stand by me
Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me
Darlin', darlin', stand by me-e, stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me
Loop 1:38 Am and F Chord Breakdown
Loop 5:43 Chord Progression Breakdown
Loop 7:35 Practice Loop of Chord Progression
Loop 8:57 50's Chord Progression
Loop 9:52 Using and Pick and Singing
Loop 11:10 Practice Loop of Playing and Singing
Loop 12:14 Getting Your Fingertips
Loop 13:37 Closing Thoughts
Comments
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Great song & lesson! Your approach to singing and lyrics is simple yet suprisingly powerful.
Anyways, recorded my own version (played around with some harmony too); would love to hear any feedback you have.
Thanks,
Matthew
hey there matthew! thank you for that version...i love it! great playing and singing and over all atmosphere. you had a few different ways of moving from the Am to the F and my favorite was around 1:50, that felt like the smoothest transition. there are no wrong answers and it's cool to hear how different players interpret songs but one of the things i look out for is whether or not my playing is supporting the vocal fully or possibly distracting from the vocal. the way you played the progression at 1:50 (and several other points oin the song) was, i thought, fully supporting the vocal. and i love the harmonies too! thanks a lot for this...i look forward to hearing more music from you!
Good stuff man!
thank you midnight mike! it's great to be here. the bar has been raised very high so i have my work cut out for me! let me know how you like it as we go along.....
Hey Dan! So awesome to have you on the site! I love how you take this simple, old-school song and give it your own voice and personality. Looking forward to following along.
hey there bruno! thank you for writing in. it's a real honor to be a part of the SJ stable and i appreciate your welcoming words. let me know how you like the lessons as we go here. and what else i can be doing to make them work for you!
Hi Dan --- great tune. I love your thoughts about singing and making the tune your own. Ben E King's version is amazing and a little intimidating at the same time. I'm looking forward to learning to sing with you --- and I'm definitely just starting the journey of finding my voice --- so I appreciate your words of encouragement.
thank you for your good words mike! i'm going to try and break things down to their basic elemants so we can all find our way inside the songs. and i'll be sure to maintain a steady focus on singing as well as playing....keep me filled in on your progress!