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Chord Notation Primer ------------------------------------------------
Playing Love Hina songs (with my chord notation)
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(1) General Instructions
1.1 Playing on Piano/Keyboard
1.2 Guitar
1.3 Bass
(2) Chords
(3) Chord Structure
3.1 Major
3.2 Minor
3.3 Augmented
3.4 Diminished
3.5 Sustained (sus)
3.6 7th
3.76 Playing with the melody
(4) Any other crap
(5) Disclaimer ***PLEASE READ THIS!!***
NOTE : The notation used for these songs is merely my own style and does not
necessarily follow any standard notation used by others, although there
might be some similarities.
INTRODUCTION :
Like some of you who would bother reading this long and boring text file, I
like many of the Love Hina songs and can play at least one musical
instrument. I would usually listen to the songs over and over until I could
play them myself on the piano (or guitar, depending on the song). After
browsing through many Love Hina pages I noticed that probably none have
links to chords (or tabs) for any Love Hina songs. As a result I decided to
write down the chords so that people would be able to play the songs
themselves and impress (or torture) their friends. Due to a mysterious freak
of nature, these chord notations (or whatever you want to call them -
"Bob"
if you wish) can be found on Hinastar, a comprehensive and informative (hint
hint) website at http://www.hinastar.com
If you have always wanted to be able to play the Love Hina songs (and sing
along), then with a bit of practice and a copy of the song, you can be a
musician on the next Love Hina CD! (just kidding)
If you don't find the song that you want, I may not have finished doing it
or I don't have it at all. Here's a list of the songs that I don't have
Bari bari otenba
Kokoro wa hachamecha Carnival
Itsu made mo, Doko made mo
Love Labryinth
Koi no tenshi maiorite
Watashi no uta
Lastly, if you want to place the chord notations on your website, you are
welcome to do so if you first notify me (eclipse_mk2@hotmail.com) and post
them in their original unchanged form (with credit to me, of course :) ).
(1) GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
The chords for the songs can be played by piano, keyboard, guitar or bass
(and maybe any other chordal instruments). The notation for each chord is
placed above the word in the song where the chord is supposed to be played.
Failing to play them at the exact time would be a federal offense
and...ur..actually it would just sound a bit weird, so you would need some
practice to play along with the music (a lot more if you want to perform the
songs to others). For example :
C G C F-G-C Am
This is a stupid song. La La La. Sing along with me.
In this case, the C major chord is played on the words 'this' and 'song'
while the major chord is played on the second syllable of the word
'stupid'. The sequence F-G-C means the three chords are played in quick
succession starting on the last 'La' (you would have to listen carefully to
the individual songs for the speed of the sequence (or to the musically
inclined, it's a "slur"). The A minor chord in this case falls in
between
the words, so try to play roughly in between the two words in the song.
For the intros, outtros, instrumentals and other times when there is music
but no words, then you have to rely on your ears to hear the chord changes.
There might be repeats of the same chord one after the other, but this would
help those who can't tell if the chord has changed or it is the same one,
but in a different position (more music jargon again...)
I have recorded some midi files to accompany the chord notations, for those
who might have trouble thinking up a style to play or having trouble
imagining what I am trying to say. But before you even hear a single note,
remember :
1) I am not a professional musician
2) The midis are not professional recordings, just a rough pieces
3) If you need to listen to these midis, you are not a professional music
critic either
You may also notice that the instumental portions may not sound the same as
the original music, or the chords sound *slightly* different, etc. etc.
Remember they are just for examples, not to be learned note-by-note.
(1.1) To play on piano/keyboard :
You would need general knowledge of chord structures (like C major means C,E
and G) and be able to coordinate your hands with your brain. Usually the
right hand would be playing the melody and chords while the left hand would
play the "bass line" (more on this in a while). It would be helpful
if you
familiarize yourself with the melody (and be able to play it).
For a chord like (F/A), your right hand would play F major while your left
hand would play the note A only, not the whole A major chord.
When starting out (if you are a beginner), then just play the chords once
when they are supposed to be played. When you are familiar with the
progression of the chords, then maybe you can try playing the melody along
with the chords and adding some more rhythm (trust me - it's really hard to
describe all this in a text file). If all this seems difficult after maybe,
a week, then singing the song instead would be a good idea.
(1.2) To play on guitar :
You would need a chord book if you are unfamiliar with the chords.
For a chord like (F/A), play the chord on the left side of the slash (or
whatever it is).
When starting out, strum the chords once when they are supposed to be
played. Once you are familiar with them, then try to find a strumming rhythm
that suits the song. If the song has a guitar as a main instrument then try
to learn the strumming by ear (I mean LISTEN to the song, not play the
guitar WITH your ear)
(1.3) To play on bass :
Just play the notes for each chord. For example :
For F, play F
For Fmin play F
For Edim, play E
For a chord like (F/A), play the NOTE on the right side of the slash
(playing the whole chord on your bass guitar would show your GREAT
EXPERIENCE in handling a bass guitar).
When starting out, play just the basic notes given. When you are familiar
with them, try to follow the bass lines in the song. Usually the bassists
would play more notes than what you are playing, for example : a F note
going to an A note might be played F-G-A or for a long stretch of the same
chord, the bass might alternate with another note.
It would be better to play the song with another instrument accompanying,
like a guitar or together with the music.
(2) CHORDS
C - C major
Cm - C minor
C# - C sharp major
Cb - C flat major
Caug - C augmented
Cdim - C diminished
Cm7 - *C minor* 7th (see section 3.6)
C7 - C *minor 7th* (see section 3.6)
Cmaj7 - C *major 7th* (see section 3.6)
Csus - C sus 4
Csus2 - C sus 2
C5 - C without 3rd note
F? - I'm not sure about this one
(Dm) - secondary chord (it's not important if you miss it)
F-G-A - chord sequence (played faster than normal - follow the song)
(3) CHORD STRUCTURE
(3.1) Major
Contains the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the scale
Ex : F major - F,A,C
Bb major - Bb,D,F
E major - E,G#,B
(3.2) Minor
Contains the 1st, flat 3rd, and 5th notes
Ex : Dm - D,F,A
Gm - G,Bb,D
C#m - C#,E,G#
(3.3) Augmented
Contains the 1st, 3rd, and sharp 5th
Ex : Caug - C,E,G#
F#aug - F#,A#,D
(3.4) Diminished
Contains the 1st, flat 3rd, flat 5th
Ex : E dim - E,G,Bb
Bb dim - Bb,Db,E
(3.5) Sustained (sus)
Sus 2 contains the 1st, 2nd and 5th
Ex : Csus2 - C,D,G (You can play C major plus the 2nd note, but it's
technically called C add 2)
Esus2 - E,F#,B
Sus4 (also written as 'sus') contains the 1st, 4th and 5th (usually precedes
the same major chord)
Ex : Dsus - D,G,A
Asus - A,D,E
(3.6) 7th
A minor chord with a 7th (written m7, eg. Cm7) contains 1st, flat 3rd, 5th,
flat 7th
Ex : Cm7 - C, Eb, G, Bb
Dm7 - D, F, A, C
Am7 - A, C, E, G
A minor 7th (written with just a 7, eg. C7) contains 1st, 3rd, 5th and flat
7th
Ex : C7 - C,E,G,Bb
F7 - F,A,C,Eb
E7 - E,G#,B,D
A major 7th contains 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th
Ex : Cmaj7 - C,E,G,B
Gmaj7 - G,B,D,F#
(3.7) Playing with the melody
When playing with the melody, try to place the melody note as the highest
note, then invert the chords to fit with the melody note.For example, if the
melody note is a C, and the chord is a C, then invert the chord so that you
play E,G,C. If the melody note is not a part of the chord, then try to
invert the chord so that the melody note is close to the chord (your fingers
can only go so far). For example, if the melody note is a D and the chord is
C, then invert it so that you play E,G,C with the melody note D. However,
playing two notes that are next to each other doesn't sound quite right
sometimes, so in this case, you can leave out the C and play E,G,D because
your left hand (or bass) is playing the C. If the chord is C/E and the
melody note is a D, then you can play E,G,C,D with an E bass, or you can
throw out the E and play G,C,D. If the 2 notes together sound weird, then
play G,D with an E bass. Play around a bit and after some practice, the
chord arranging should come naturally. On the other hand, when the music is
playing or when you are singing and banging away at the instrument, no one
will care whether the E note was in the chord, or what inversion you were
using, etc. etc. etc. unless you sound like a cat giving birth.
(4) ANY OTHER CRAP
The chords for the songs were transcribed by ear so there might be mistakes
here and there. If you think that a certain chord is wrong, don't sit in
your room mumbling angrily at the screen. Instead, please let me know at :
eclipse_mk2@hotmail.com
Before you do that, try playing it a few times to see if you are really
correct. Make sure that you're not playing it wrongly, otherwise you will be
causing unnecessary trouble.
Also, if you are able to transcribe chords for songs that I have been unable
to do, then feel free to send them to me and full credit will be given to
you (so all the complaints will go to you instead :)
(5) DISCLAIMER
The songs used in my notations are copyrights of their respective owners and
are in no way affiliated with me (except for the fact that I may sing them
in the shower). The lyrics for all Love Hina songs are taken from
hinastar.com. I might have changed a few words that I thought were wrong,
but before you send any corrections look at the original lyrics at
hinastar.com and send the corrections there instead. The chord notations use
the lyrics for reference, not as accurate romanizations.
I will not be held responsible for any untoward incidents that may arise
from using my chord notations, including but not exclusively :
1) Neighbours complaining
2) Local populace complaining
3) Riots outside your house
4) Endless hours of futile practice
5) Sore fingers/arms
6) Damaged strings or instruments
7) Throbbing pains in any body parts (including ears)
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