Today the 3 Chord Club visits Detroit, Michigan, the home of Motown. At the 3 Chord Club we choose three songs from a specific artist, label or genre of music that we’ll learn by ear and all the songs only have three chords or less! That’s where y0ur ears come in. Since you know the song only has one to three chords, try to figure out the changes, or chord progression by ear. Here’s a hint, most of the time the chords will be the I-IV & V or V7 chords. In the Key of C, that’s C-F-G or G7.

This week we’ll play classic Motown from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Barrett Strong and my favorites The Temptations. Note that the video examples will be in various different keys. Just listen to the structure of the chord progression and you’ll be able to transpose the song to the key that fits you (C is a good place to start). For extra fun try to determine the original key!

Money
(Hint: Blues)

I Second That Emotion
 (Hint: V-IV-I intro)



Just My Imagination
(Hint: I-IV-I forever except for one lonely V7)

Songs presented are for educational purposes only and used under the fair use doctrine of United States copyright law.