Life on Mars - Chords

[teyla]

Today, I picked up my guitar for the first time in months, because I wanted to see if I could manage to play Life on Mars well enough to have something to sing along to.

Sheesh, that song is complicated.

But I wouldn't let that discourage me. After I'd found out that there's no way in hell you can strum that song and still make it sound good, I took it apart and wrote a how-to file complete with lyrics, chords, chord tables and chord notes.

I found it helpful, so I thought I'd share it with you guys :).


I've got an MS Word .doc, and a .pdf file for all you guys who might be using a different OS or an older version of Word (mine's the 2002 version).

What you'll find in the file will look something like this:



I put the small base note annotations in there because while picking, I never manage to remember quickly enough which string is carrying the base note. From time to time, you'll find a small number behind the base note annotation (as in 'E (3)'). Those are the bar numbers for the more exotic bar chords.

And this is how I structure chord tables:


Pretty standard. If you have any questions, just drop me a line in a comment :).

The chords I found on this site. The guy who put them online suggests that you pick the verse with the following pattern: base note plus first and second strings all simultaneously, then the third string.

Right click & save target as:
   Word file
   PDF file
   Word + PDF (.zip)

Feel free to share this with anyone you think might be interested.


Happy Easter, everyone! If you don't celebrate it, well, I hope your Sunday will still be a happy one :).

Comments

[qthewetsprocket.livejournal.com]

ooh, thank you. i may give this a go...i tip my hat, my earmuffs, and sundry other clothing items to you for actually trying to convert rick wakeman's piano playing to guitar. :0

[teyla]

Hee, well, my piano playing is even more pitiful than my guitar playing, so I don't really have a choice xD.

And you're welcome - I hope you'll find it helpful :).

[lessien-c.livejournal.com]

Snagging for my guitar-savvy sister. Thanks!

[teyla]

:) You're welcome.

[wihluta.livejournal.com]

Looks like you had a busy night. lol

If it's piano in the original, I could play it on my accordeon... ;-)

[teyla]

Hee, it's not exactly an accordeon song, though xD. I should be less lazy and try to learn to play it on the piano, but then, I don't have a piano at home, so I guess I don't have much of a choice xD.

[scruby.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot. (:

[teyla]

You're welcome :).

[altorogue.livejournal.com]

This? Awesome. :D

[teyla]

Hee. Glad you're finding it useful :).

[audaces.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[teyla]

You're welcome :).

singing

[(Anonymous)]

Bowie recrded the vocals in on take perfectly.The producer made a mistake and he had to do it again - perfectly. Man was an awesome musician