What’s Going On | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Emaj9 (E69) | Emaj9 (E69) :||
Verse 1
| Emaj9 | Emaj9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | Mother, mother. There’s too many of you crying.| Emaj9 | Emaj9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | Brother, brother, brother. There’s far too many of you dying.| F#m9 | F#m9 | You know we’ve got to find a way. To bring some | B13sus4 | B13 |lovin’ here today, yeah.
You are viewing: What’s Going On Marvin Gaye Chords
Verse 2
| Emaj9 | Emaj9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | Father, father. We don’t need to escalate.| Emaj9 | Emaj9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | You see, war is not the answer. For only love can conquer hate.| F#m9 | F#m9 | You know we’ve got to find a way, To bring some | B13sus4 | B13 |lovin’ here today.
Bridge 1
| F#m7 | B9 | F#m7 | B9 |Picket lines and picket signs. Don’t punish me with brutality.| F#m7 | B9 |Talk to me, so you can see.
Chorus 1
| Emaj7 | C#m7 | Emaj7 | C#m7 |Oh, what’s going on (What’s going on). What’s going on (What’s going on).| Emaj7 | C#m7 | Emaj7 | C#m7 |Yeah, what’s going on (What’s going on). Oh, what’s going on (What’s going on).
Chorus Tag
||: Cmaj7/A | Cmaj7/A :|| x4Right on, baby. Right on, baby. Right on.||: B13 | B13 :||Du dee do…
Verse 3
| Emaj9 | Emaj9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | Mother, mother. Everybody thinks we’re wrong.| Emaj9 | Emaj9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | Oh, but who are they to judge us. Simply ’cause our hair is long.| F#m9 | F#m9 | Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way. To bring some | B13sus4 | B13 |understanding here today.
Bridge 1
| F#m7 | B9 | F#m7 | B9 |Picket lines and picket signs. Don’t punish me with brutality.| F#m7 | B9 |Come on talk to me, so you can see.
Chorus 2
| Emaj7 | C#m7 | Emaj7 | C#m7 |What’s going on (What’s going on). Yeah, what’s going on (What’s going on).Tell me what’s going on (What’s going on). I’ll tell you, what’s going on (What’s going on).
Chorus Tag
||: Cmaj7/A | Cmaj7/A :|| x4Ah, right on, baby, right on. Right on, baby.||: B13 | B13 :||Du dee do…
Outro
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||: Cmaj7/A | Cmaj7/A :|| x4Ah, Right on, baby, right on. Right on, baby.||: B13 | B13 :||Du dee do…
What’s Going On Chords: Learn the progressions!
In the key of E, Marvin Gaye‘s What’s Going On’s chords mainly achieve its slick sound through natural extensions. Let’s examine each section one by one, starting with the intro.
Very similar to how the verse starts, we have an Emaj9 chord, with the occasional 6, instead of the maj7, so I’ve put an E69 chord in brackets.
If you play chord licks or improvise melodies over the intro, use the 3rd, 9th, maj7, and 6 as target notes to get the right vibe.
The verse sticks with the Emaj9, try an A shape including the 3rd, maj7, and 9. This is followed by a C#m7, Fm9, and finished off with a B13.
On the keyboard, you could play first with an 11, then without. Both would be 13 chords. On the guitar, we can’t fit all those notes in so let’s first play a sus4, then the 3rd to achieve a similar effect.
Here are all the chords for What’s Going On’s verse:
| Emaj9 | Emaj9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | | Emaj9 | Emaj9 | C#m7 | C#m7 | | F#m9 | F#m9 | | B13sus4 | B13 |
Next, we have the bridge, this is similar to how the verse finished, just smaller extensions in F#m7 – B9. The chords only have one bar each as well.
The chorus is similar to how the verse started (genius!) again, only with a chord per bar each and smaller in extensions using just Emaj7 – C#m7.
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Finally, the chorus tag, this is the first time we go outside the key of E major. What we have here is a modal interchange, going from E to E minor. You can even see an Em chord in the Cmaj7/A.
Should you want to improvise over this section, try an A Dorian scale, or a C Lydian. These two scales share the same notes but will make you choose different target notes.
What’s Going On Chords | Related Pages
Advanced Acoustic
The advanced acoustic tunes use big chord extensions and sometimes, unique and complex chords that incorporate open strings.
Study these in-depth and you will gain a complete understanding of the guitar fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, or chord.
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
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Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye helped shape the Motown sound as a drummer, session singer, writer, lead singer, and producer in the 60s and 70s.
Marvin’s hits include I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Can I Get A Witness, and politically fueled What’s Going On.
Marvin Gaye on the web
- MarvinGaye.net
- Discogs
- Wiki
- YouTube
Motown & Soul
You can learn how to play these Motown & Soul tunes, and in doing so, gain yourself a repertoire so you can jam with, or even join a working band.
Study these tunes in-depth and you will map out the fretboard, master the CAGED system, and learn how to design a rhythm guitar part that works in a band.
About me
This article was written by Dan Lundholm, Spytunes guitar guru. Discover more about him and how learning guitar with Spytunes has evolved.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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