Astronaut

Is there any far fetched chance that you could share the chord progression for Astronaut? Thanks a lot, whether you get to it or not.

Well, I'm just the bass player, so the piano chords might be a little more complicated, but here is the gist:

G-C-C-Bb-G-F-C-G-F-Bb-Eb

C-G-C-C-Bb-G-F-C-G-F-Bb-Eb

Bb-Eb-C-G-F-Bb-Eb-Bb-Bb/A-Gm-F-C-Eb-

G-F-C-Bb-Eb-C

G-F-C-Bb-Eb-C-Eb-C

F-(F#)-Gm-Gm/A-Bb-C

Refrain:

G-F synco thing -> C-Bb synco thing

 

Okay - all the chords should be there, in probably the correct order - so now you've got some work cut out for ya! Of  course it's a piano song so the chord run will make much more sense on a keyboard. Good luck!

I knew that if I started working this out that one of you would post the changes.  Ha!  Anyway, I've been chipping away at it in my spare time and I'm about halfway through it (I'm at the end of Michael's third line) so I'll keep working at it and post what I come up with, if you guys don't have a problem with it.  My inner music nerd comes out whenever I get started transcribing a tune or just working out the harmony.  I'm working it out on piano, so I'll check to see if Michael's idea of the chords possibly being more complicated is so.

And what do you mean "just the bass player?"  I always thought bassists were the backbone of the band!

Todd

 

jeronimo and Michael,

Okay, here's how I'm hearing it. There are a few minor differences between what I'm hearing and what Michael posted, which means I'm most likely wrong...and deaf. He obviously plays the tune for a living and I'd all but ignored this one until two days ago. But, in keeping true to my failing ears, the disaster below is posted exactly how I heard it and is open to harsh criticism (especially if you can teach me some new words).

The |F F# | G A | Bb C | line at the end of section A and at the end of the tune could probably be reharmonized forty-eleven different ways and still sound cool. I played around with it a bunch, but I thought the mostly-diatonic ascending chord scale in F sounded the best with the recording. You can always experiment with it and find something that pleases your ear. Anyway, jeronimo, hopefully this is somewhat helpful.

(I tried to break each line into four measures. There are a few exceptions.)

Section A

(2x)

||:G |C |C Bb |G F |

 

|C |G F |Bb |Eb :||

 

|Bb |Eb |C |G F |

 

|Bb |Eb |Bb Bb/A | G- F|

 

|C |G F |Bb |Eb |

 

|Bb Bb/A |G- F |C |Eb |

 

|G F |C Bb |Eb |C |

 

|G F |C Bb |Eb |C |

 

|Eb |C | F F#dim |G- A- |Bb C |

 

Section B

Vamp

(5x)

||:G | % | C | % :||

 

| Eb | F | Bb | C |

 

(4x)

||:G | % | C | % :||

 

| Eb | F | Bb | C |

 

Section C

 

|G | % |

 

|G |C |C Bb |G F |

 

|C |G F |Bb |Eb |

 

|Bb |Eb |C |G F |

 

|Bb |Eb |Bb | Eb |

 

| Bb Bb/A |G- F |C |Eb |

 

|G F |C Bb |Eb |C |

 

|G F |C Bb |Eb |C |

 

|Eb |C | F F#dim |G- A- |Bb C |

|G ||

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, Michael and Bergschrund, thanks a million! Greatly appreciated!

Jeronimo: hope you have fun with it! Keep in mind that this is just an interpretation and isn't necessarily meant to represent exactly what Eric E. had in mind when he wrote it.

Michael and the rest of the band: Hope you guys are okay with me chiming in. It was intended to be friendly and helpful and in no way was I trying to ruffle any feathers.  It used to be standard for me to approach any new song from the piano (I am by no means a pianist), whether it was writing, learning, or lifting it from a recording. Sadly, I don't get much time to do it anymore now that I'm chasing a two-year old around and trying to be a good husband; music has to take a backseat most of the time.  Anyway, it was really therapeutic to once again sit down at the keyboard, put the headphones on, and try to get inside a composer's head.  Hopefully you guys don't mind if I chime in on such requests from time to time.

 

Oh, and Michael: my wife was diggin' your hat last Saturday in Silverton.  That was a fun show, for sure.  I was going to send you guys some video, but it was way too loud up front and just completely overloaded my phone's sorry-ass little mic.  Footage was pretty good though, so let me know if you want any of it and I'll send it your way.

Todd

Jeronimo: small typo - replace F#- with F# dim; that's actually what I've been playing.

Todd

Cool, thanks Bergschrund

Dude - Bergschrund! Hell no we don't mind you chiming in - that's what this forum is for, a melding of the minds, chiming & rhyming, and whatever else.

Glad your wife liked the hat. I think I'm becoming a hat guy - I wonder if that means anything.

I don't mean to dredge this thread up too hard, but with Eric playing guitar on this one on the latest tour, I was able to finally get the chords 95%

Pretty sure this thing is Capo 3

Verse 1
E, A
A, A/G, E, --> D
A, E, D
G, C

Verse 2
E, A
A, A/G, E, --> D
A, E, D
G, C
G, C

Prechorus
A, E, D
G, C
G, C, G/B
A, E, D
G, C
G, D/F#, Em, D, A, C

Chorus
E, D, A, G, C, A7
E, D, A, G, C
A7, C
A7, D, B7, Em, D/F#, G, A

Bridge
E, D => A
A, G => E (mostly)

pay your lover's way C, D
And the ship it sails today G, A7

E, D => A
A, G => E (mostly)

pay your lover's way C, D
And the ship it sails today G, A7

E

Verse 3/Prechorus
E, A
A, A/G, E => D
A, E, D
G, C
G, C
A, E, D
G, C
G, C
G, D/F#, Em, D, A7, C

Chorus
E, D, A, G, C, A7
E, D, A, G, C
A7, C
A7, D, B7, Em, D/F#, G, A

E