https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:30:52 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-148140 Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:11:32 +0000
I'm not trying to learn Piano Man in the key of E... The E D G A back to E, etc, was my own chord progression, and for the bridge I want to go to the relative minor. I was just citing Piano Man as an example of a song where that is done.

Sorry for the confusion :roll:]]> Guitar Players Discussion Taso https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-148140 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-148034 Sat, 31 Dec 2005 16:05:05 +0000
For whatever it's worth, I'd like to add that I learned this in C and it's not all that hard. Instead of looking at it as different chord changes each time, look instead at the descending bass line that runs through the whole son. It's just as easy to think of the slash chords, meaning that the main chord stays the same while the bass note moves. In C, it's like this:

C C/B Am Am/G F C/E D G
It's five o'clock on a Saturday the regular crowd shuffles in...


And in E:

E E/D# C#m C#m/B A E/G# F# B
It's five o'clock on a Saturday the regular crowd shuffles in...


You already know it's a waltz - each chord change lasts for three beats.

In the bridge, things in C do switch to Am (the relative minor), and the progression (if I remember correctly) each chord getting three beats again, is;

Am Am/G D7/F# F

Am Am/G D7/F# D7/F#

G F Am/E G7/D



Transposed to E, you get


C#m C#m/B F#7/A# A

C#m C#m/B F#7/A# F#7/A#

B A C#m/G# B7/F#


Man, I hope I remembered that correctly. Anyway, the thing is, in this particular song, to let the bass line guide you through the chord changes

Hope this helps.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Peace]]> Guitar Players Discussion David Hodge https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-148034 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-148009 Sat, 31 Dec 2005 10:47:31 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Taso https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-148009 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147578 Fri, 30 Dec 2005 00:27:09 +0000 perfect candence. IV to I is called a plagal cadence.

I think I wrote an article about it some years back... :wink:
Peace]]> Guitar Players Discussion David Hodge https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147578 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147557 Thu, 29 Dec 2005 23:20:06 +0000
Can you clarify what "cadence' means?

And lets say the progression goes: E, D, G, A...What's the best way to go to C#m? (I think the answer to that might come with the explanation of 'cadence" )


Thanks again!]]> Guitar Players Discussion Taso https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147557 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147455 Thu, 29 Dec 2005 17:21:09 +0000
:D :D :D

Vic]]> Guitar Players Discussion Vic Lewis VL https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147455 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147454 Thu, 29 Dec 2005 17:16:28 +0000
:D :D :D

Vic]]> Guitar Players Discussion Vic Lewis VL https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147454 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147418 Thu, 29 Dec 2005 14:16:52 +0000
Close - the relative minor of E is C#m (4 sharps - C minor has 3 flats)

If you start by remembering that the chord of C#m exists in the key of E major then you're onto a good start. You can just pick up your song and put it down in the new key if you like, but normally you'd want to do some kind of cadence in the new key so that your audience know what's happening. A straight V-I sequence will do, although most modern music uses a II-V-I cadence, which in C#m would be D#dim-G#-C#m

Hope this helps.

Best,


A :-)]]> Guitar Players Discussion Alan Green https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-147418 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-14099 Thu, 29 Dec 2005 10:19:26 +0000
From what I remember a teacher saying, Billy goes to the relative minor of the key for the bridge...

So if I were in the key of E, (and I THINK I am, the chords are E, D, Dsus4, G, and A) the relative minor would be C right?

Assuming that's correct, how can I get to the relative minor without it sounding weird and out of place?

Hope that makes sense...

Thanks]]> Guitar Players Discussion Taso https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-man/#post-14099