House of the Rising Sun in C minor zone 2
House of the Rising Sun - Melody in Bass
- Traditional
- Intermediate
- North American Folk Music
- Arpeggios and Melody in the Bass
- Chords at 3rd position, zone 2, key of C minor
House of the Rising Sun Melody (pdf)
House of the Rising Sun (pdf)
House of the Rising Sun Lyrics (txt)
House of the Rising Sun (midi)
House of the Rising Sun (ASCII tab)
House of the Rising Sun (TuxGuitar tab) Get the free program: http://www.tuxguitar.com.ar/
Performance Tips
Learn the tune first, from the tablature, then learn the chords with strumming, and then tackle the arpeggios, if you have not learned this arpeggiation pattern before. Use the thumb of your picking hand for the lowest two notes of the pattern, and fingers index, middle and ring for the highest three notes.
This arrangement should not be attempted until you can play the open zone 2 version at the nut, in A minor, quite fluidly. You will need to have mastered the 1st and 2nd form bar chords (E and A shapes). If you have this version mastered, you can play it anywhere on the neck, giving you any key.
Meta Analysis
- Key of C (harmonic) minor
- Zone 2, based on 2nd form minor scale in the 3rd position
Cm, Eb, F, Ab,Nashville Notation
Cm, Eb, G, G,
Cm, Eb, F, Ab,
Cm, Eb, Cm, Cm
i, bIII, IV, VI,Chord Forms
i, bIII, V, V,
i, bIII, IV, VI,
i, V, i, i
- C minor - 2nd form minor bar, roots on strings 5 and 3
- E flat major - 5th form major bar, roots on strings 5 and 2
- F major - 3rd form major bar, roots on strings 4 and 2
- G major - 1st form major bar, roots on strings 6, 4 and 1
- A flat major - 1st form major bar, roots on strings 6, 4 and 1
The harmonized harmonic minor scale would have indicated that an E flat augmented chord be used for degree bIII. Likewise, the F minor chord would be used for degree IV in the harmonized scale. However, in the melodic minor scale, both A and B appear in the ascending scale, so the harmonization used here fits that variant. The harmonization works in the song as it is, and may be a little bit more interesting than that provided by strict harmonization of the scale. The progression is one I learned when I started to play, and it is undoubtedly related to a version done by the group, Eric Burdon and the Animals. The song was fairly high in the charts at the time, and probably every guitarist of my generation learned to play it.
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