You Are Reading the First 6 FREE Chapters (470 pages)

6.8.3
Chords of "Heartbreak Hotel": Chord Pattern Example

To do a chord map of any song’s chord progression, you need the following:

  1. A pencil or pen and some paper.
  2. A lyric sheet showing the chords for the song. You can use a lead sheet if you want to, but you don’t need the melody. Just the chords.
  3. Instructions on how to do a chord map. Coming up momentarily.

But first, here’s an example of what a chord map looks like (Figure 59). As you can see, it’s just an innocent-looking little diagram—a circular harmonic scale diagram that maps the pattern of the song’s chord progression. Small and simple—but it packs a powerful punch. (Chord maps can get pretty elaborate.)

Example of chord progression Chase chart for the song Heartbreak Hotel.

FIGURE 59: Chords of “Heartbreak Hotel” (Words and Music by Hoyt Axton’s Mom, Mae Boren Axton, 1956) Mapped on a Circular Harmonic Scale

< Previous   Next >