I really admire songwriters who can take just three chords and
turn them into a classic piece of music. Creedence--and specificialy key
writer, John Fogerty--was a band that could even take one chord
sequence and create a rock masterpiece ('Run Through the Jungle'), never
having it feel odd or repetitive.
CCR was another band that was not short on hits, and carved out an amazing niche for themselves in the 60s, turning out hit after hit... and not just the kind of mindless noodling that might pass for a hit in our day and age. Songs like 'Down On The Corner', 'Proud Mary', 'Born on the Bayou' and 'Bad Moon Rising' were so well conceived that they barely sound dated today as they have become a vital and indelible piece of classic rock Americana at large.
With 'Down On The Corner', the tuning accommodates John Fogerty's vocal range. If you can sing in this range, then you're in good shape to have some fun with this piece. If you can't, there are various things you can do to move the key around, and they aren't that tough to do. You can incorporate a capo to raise the overall pitch of the guitar and, thus, keep mostly the same fingerings and electric guitar licks (understanding how to use a capo is a great way to expand your guitar learning too) and the song remains an easy guitar song. You can also do some experimentation and create alternate chords applying some easy guitar theory and adjust the pitch without giving yourself too much of a headache.
If you choose the latter, you likely will need a basic grasp of basic barre chords and be able to move the fingerings and riffs around a bit to find out where it is easiest to sing for you. Fogerty has a surprisingly high range and sometimes his vocals are a little tough to execute note-for-note in the original key.
In the end, 'Down On The Corner' is an instantly recognizable riff that beginning guitarists can get their fingers around quickly and easily. If you end up wanting to accompany yourself, vocally, you may have to make adjustments to the key and standard electric guitar licks depending on your vocal range, but all of this is a great way to expand your guitar learning and gives you great insights into playing style, songwriting and classic rock greatness.
CCR was another band that was not short on hits, and carved out an amazing niche for themselves in the 60s, turning out hit after hit... and not just the kind of mindless noodling that might pass for a hit in our day and age. Songs like 'Down On The Corner', 'Proud Mary', 'Born on the Bayou' and 'Bad Moon Rising' were so well conceived that they barely sound dated today as they have become a vital and indelible piece of classic rock Americana at large.
With 'Down On The Corner', the tuning accommodates John Fogerty's vocal range. If you can sing in this range, then you're in good shape to have some fun with this piece. If you can't, there are various things you can do to move the key around, and they aren't that tough to do. You can incorporate a capo to raise the overall pitch of the guitar and, thus, keep mostly the same fingerings and electric guitar licks (understanding how to use a capo is a great way to expand your guitar learning too) and the song remains an easy guitar song. You can also do some experimentation and create alternate chords applying some easy guitar theory and adjust the pitch without giving yourself too much of a headache.
If you choose the latter, you likely will need a basic grasp of basic barre chords and be able to move the fingerings and riffs around a bit to find out where it is easiest to sing for you. Fogerty has a surprisingly high range and sometimes his vocals are a little tough to execute note-for-note in the original key.
In the end, 'Down On The Corner' is an instantly recognizable riff that beginning guitarists can get their fingers around quickly and easily. If you end up wanting to accompany yourself, vocally, you may have to make adjustments to the key and standard electric guitar licks depending on your vocal range, but all of this is a great way to expand your guitar learning and gives you great insights into playing style, songwriting and classic rock greatness.
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