“Killing Me Softly (With His Song)” makes for an excellent review and exercise of the basic chords in addition to being a lovely tune with some interesting theory behind it. The song was a number one hit for Roberta Flack in 1973 and with her beautiful vocal and arrangement she crystallized a certain kind of style – folky soul with a hint of Latin.
There are eleven chords in all: G – Em – C – D – Am – A – E – D7 – Am7 – Fmaj7 – B7. You don’t really need the extra 7th chords, ie Am7 and D7, but they add to the jazzy vibe. The main point is you have to memorize these chords. It’s worth it because you can play many songs with them. You’ll notice that there are three different A chords, and two different E chords, plus two pesky D chords – the way I like to think about the D and D7 chords are that one is a triangular shape pointing towards the body of the guitar, and the other is pointing away from the guitar. You will eventually use them all and here is a great chance to get them down.
You’ll also notice that not all of the chords are listed at the top of the main chart, above. This is simply due to space limitations but it also it serves a purpose – you need to know as soon as possible what an E major chord is, and an E minor chord, and a C chord, etc. They are the ultimate in basic chords. I’ve included a handout of mine that I call, “Basic Chords,” below. These are sixteen of the easiest chords. I’ve heard it said that there are twenty-five chords that you need to play most songs. These are the sixteen easiest and most essential and they would definitely be included in any group of twenty-five.
Take a look at the video. The simple rhythm is used in many songs, and one pattern equals one measure of the song or one chord. Some people refer to it as down – down – up – up – down. I call it the ‘basic syncopated strum’ and you can see a lesson based on it by checking out my post on the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers.” There is a chart below. Note how the strum on beat two and a half carries through on beat three, hence 'syncopated.'
The Down-Down-Up-Up-Down Strum Pattern or "Basic Syncopated Strum" is illustrated above.
Make sure that you use the ‘guide fingers’ that are available and also ‘common fingers.’ You can read a primer on guide fingers in my lesson on “Wild Thing.” Some of the available options include the common finger number one (index) that sits on the note C at the first fret, B string and is present in both the Am7 chord and the D7 chord. Do not lift it completely off the string when you go from Am7 to D7. Keep it there! It saves time! Next, you can use the third finger at the second fret of the high E string in the D7 chord as a guide finger to slide to the next chord, G major – the third finger is also on the high E string in that chord, just one fret up. Think, “guide finger, slide finger,” if you want to. These two important techniques are applied right in the first line of the song. You have to apply this theory wherever you can. Where else can you find guide fingers in “Killing Me Softly”? The move from A major to D major is one example, using the third finger on the B string (second line of the song).
The cover of Roberta Flack's first album on Atlantic Records - Note the jazzy trappings - Oh Yeah!
On a theoretical level, the harmonic progression that underpins much of the song’s gorgeous melody is a circle of fifths – you’ve probably heard of that – for example the Em – Am7 – D7 – G progression of the chorus. (Count backwards from E to A in the alphabet: E - D - C - B - A. Voila! E to A equals five equals a fifth.) Another interesting theoretical device in the song is called a Picardy Third – this accounts for the E major chord at the end of the chorus – the third of the Em chord is raised from G to G#, making the final chord of the phrase and eventually the song major instead of minor, for a more uplifting ending. For more on "Killing Me Softly" click here. Have fun! -Christian Botta
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