Chords for Beginnings Lesson - Chicago

[E] _ [A] _ _ _ Hi all, I wanted to do a _ lesson on that Chicago song called Beginnings, which is, I think
it's from their first record.
_ It's one of the early ones anyway.
_ And I was going to
do it as a play along demo, but YouTube rejected it for copyright, so we'll just do it as a
lesson instead.
_ And _ that's probably just as well because the chords [G] are a little bit _ _
[Em] weird
and it sounds like it's an open tuning because the E string, this high E ring's open through
the whole song start to finish.
_ So it sounds like it's an open tuning, but [C#m] it's not. _
And
here's how you do it.
You [Em] start with this little thing in the [C#m] intro.
_ _ [A] _ _ [Bm] _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ [C#] So that starts
up in, you're in the 14th fret on the D and the B [Bm] strings, and then [D#] with your index finger
do the G string right behind them in the 13th fret.
So you're just going back and forth
on this, sliding it up and down two frets.
So it [A] starts up here.
_ [E] You can let that A ring
open.
But remember, always _ _ be hitting the E string on every chord in the whole song.
So on this one you let the A, so you're playing A through E.
Forget about the E at the bottom
[A] for the moment anyway.
_ _ And just go back and [Bm] forth.
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
And it does that through the whole
intro, _ [A] which is, I don't know how many bars, but it's through the whole intro.
Then when
he comes in with his vocal, _ _ it's another version _ of an A chord.
So really it's this A, _ _ _ _ but
you're only doing part of it.
So you're doing this much of it.
So that's, what's that, 12,
11, 10.
In the 9th [E] fret you're on the G string.
In the [F#] 10th fret you're on [A] the B.
And in the
11th fret you're on the D string. _ _ _
_ So that's the, whoa, when I'm with you.
_ I can't sing,
but it starts, when [D] I'm with you. _
[A] _ _ _ So he's doing this A thing, _ and then it goes to, this
[D] is really D, but you're not covering the E string.
So it's the same as if you barred
a D all the way up here at the _ 10th, except you're only playing part of [Em] it.
So get rid
of all of those bass strings up there, and just do these [G] three.
So it's almost like you
take [A] an F, bring it all the way up to D, let the E string ring over.
So, and again, the
A should be ringing open for this part.
So you're doing, _ _ when [D] I'm with you.
_ [A] _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ I don't even
know the words.
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ Do that.
_ [A] _ _ _
And then when it goes to the change, [C] _ _ _ [E]
which is the same [A] chord
you just did [D] here, _ the [C] D, except it's down to C.
All over my body.
And _ _ _ when you get down
to this part, with the C and the G, [A] that I'll show you in a second, don't let that A ring
open anymore. _
So you're kind of muting it as you reach over with your thumb, or at least
I do anyway.
But however you choose to, you can even strum it without _ picking that A
string.
But I kind of mute it, just _ so I can give it a full, _ and not really worry too much
about hitting that string.
So you're done with doing _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ the_
And then the whole _ _ _ _ [G] is_ _
_ Time [C] passes much too quickly, that [E] part.
So that's the same thing.
You're doing the same
chord shapes that you were doing the first time, except you move [A] them all down to two
frets, to G and C this time.
Instead of A and D, this [G] part it _ _ _ _ [C] goes_ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ I wish I [C] could
sing it to you.
This is that part. _ _ _
[Bm] _ [G] _ _ I wish I could [C] sing it to you.
And then it goes back
to the first part again.
[A] _ _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _
_ Mostly _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ I'm silent.
And that, okay, it goes through all that.
Then when he gets to the line, mostly I'm silent, it goes between those two first shape
chords, the A and the G.
So mostly I'm silent. _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
Silent.
_ _ _ [G] _ That part.
_ [A] _ Silent.
_ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ And then it's back
into [A] another verse.
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ All _ _ [D]
through that whole thing again.
[A] And the only time it's different
is at the very end, when it's doing the mostly I'm silent.
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ [A] Silent.
_ It goes through, [G] I don't
know how many of these, but when you're playing [A] along with it, you'll know.
_ _ _ _ [G] _
_ And then this.
_ [A] _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ Okay, so [Am] after he's done the last batch, before it goes into that whole, only the beginning,
the whole outro part.
This is how you get into that outro [A] part.
So it's [G] mostly I'm silent,
between [A] these two.
_ And I'll show them to you close so you can see.
_ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ And then the next chord
where [A] it goes to the break is, _ _ which is an A with the E string ringing open.
As if you
were barring an A at the fifth fret, right?
But just do the top part of it and let the
E ring open.
And then let the A ring open.
So it's this.
_ A, slide it down [G] to G, _ _ [E] slide
it down to [F] F, _ [Am] _ back up [G] to G.
_ [A] _ _
_ Only the [G] beginning, _ _ _
[F] _ _ _ only [G] the beginning. _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ [Em] And it repeats that forever
and ever [E] until it gets to that percussion thing at the end.
But that's the whole song,
that's every chord in it.
And you really kind of play along with it.
But it's a neat strumming
thing and you get the strum.
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ [Bm] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ It's kind of a neat one to play along with.
But anyway,
that's how you do Chicago beginnings.
Good luck.
[N] _