Old Cape Cod in G?

Dtpolk

Not a classic swing number, but a great tune done by Patti Page in the 50's. Originally recorded in Eb, I need the chords transposed to G and I'm not good at transposing. Can anyone help?? Thanks!

PapsPier

Do you have the chords in the original Eb key?

Dtpolk

Yes, here they are..

Bones

Dtpolk, time to learn how! :-) Just kidding.

But this would be a good exercise. Just take a piece of paper and write out the chart with just the chords (no notes) in boxes. Each box is a measure. Now do the same thing but substitute the number of the chord (i.e. Eb is I, F is II, Ab is IV, Bb is V, etc.). Include the 'flavor' of chord (7, m7, etc.). Now use the number chart as a guide and write a new chord chart in G (G=I, A=II, B=III, C=IV, etc). Once you figure that out you can do the same thing in your head and eventually 'on the fly'. Good luck.

PapsPier

I agree with Bones, time to learn!
Another way: you write two columns/lines on a paper. The first one is the chromatic scale starting at the initial key (Eb). The second one is the chromatic scale starting at the key you want (G).
Then it is like a secret code you are deciphering. You translate the partition you send us using the code/the "equivalences" between the two scales

To be clear your code will be
1- Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C Db D
2- G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb

sO the second line (I skip the intro) of your transposed song will be
one bar of G, half a bar of Dm7, half a bar of G9 and one bar of C

juanderer

or just tune up two steps and hope your guitar and/or strings don't break...

klaatu

Here you go.

Dtpolk

Thanks klaatu, and everyone else who responded. I will be trying the transposition suggestions here to learn how. Much thanks!

NylonDave

I think that you will get along much quicker learning to transpose if you start off with some three chord ( 1,4,5 ie, in c, CFG ) pop tunes. This will structure the way you build your ear and you will recognise where the structural chords (14 and 5 ) are in the tune.

Think of it like lifting weights, if you want to build real strength then it is low weights and high repetition. You will learn more playing through a Dylan tune in all twelve keys in an afternoon than say transposing After You've Gone for thirty years and failing to notice which chord is the one and which is the four.

A great deal of the Django repertoire is just elaborations of three chord harmony, it gets easier to see that if you practice transposing simple things.

Cape Cod is a great tune and thanks for the introduction, it is new to me other than a snippet in a TV ad years ago. But as a first tune to transpose I would go WAY simpler otherwise it will still seem like a long confusing stream of random chords and the underlying structure will remain a mystery.

D.

Lango-Django

Yeah, nice tune... sorta reminds me of "Moonlight in Vermont"... a tourism song!

I have to agree with the previous posters about learning to transpose on the fly. You'll find this especially valuable when accompanying singers, especially amateurs who often don't know anything about keys or which one will suit their voice, so you have to kind of lead them through some choices.

Shortly after the death of the late Cilla Black, I saw a funny interview with her on this subject... early in her career, Brian Epstein had gotten her a gig in which the Beatles, who were also on the bill, were to act as her backup band... despite the fact that she'd never sung with them before.

Backstage, she told them what song she wanted to sing, so they played it on their unplugged guitars.

"That's in the wrong key for me!" she said.

"Well, that's the key we play it in!" they replied.

Her response: "Oh, why can't you guys be proper musicians!"