Brown Eyed Girl

Ukulele Chords

These and many other chords are covered in the Learn A Chord A Day series of lessons.

C Tuning Chords

In the Daily Ukulele series of book the chords are actually listing in their order of appearance. And, are always the basic open position chords when possible.

Starting Melody Note and 1st Interval

Intervals Legend: Root=note that begins a scale of the starting key; C is C, D is D, Am is A, Em is E, etc… m=minor; M=Major; P=Perfect; D=Diminished; A=Augmented. • ↑ is up/ascending; ↓ is down/descending;

Harmonic Analysis (HA) Worksheet

Visit the Harmonic Analysis for Scale and Chord Selection series of lessons for information on creating your own Harmonic Analysis Worksheet

The Harmonic Analysis (HA)

A Harmonic Analysis (RMA/HA) and its worksheet are intended to show the function of the chords, the harmonic principles used, the keys and tonalities the song explores. And, can be used for scale selections and chord and scale substitutions.

NOTE: A Harmonic Analysis Worksheet is NOT intended to be a lead leadsheet. Minimal roadmap information such as repeats, fine, D.S., D.C., and codas has been used in preparing the worksheets to somewhat mirror the leadsheet in the Daily Ukulele book.

Sections, Verse, Chorus, 1st, 2nd Ending, turnbacks …

The worksheets will show 1st, 2nd Ending, turnbacks, etc. as indicated in the Yellow Book. You should start to recognize that 1st endings typically always return to a previous verse or an section. With a 2nd ending, a transition to a different part of the song, a or chorus. Harmonic Principles are used for these repeats and transitions.

If turnback chords are not indicated for these 1st and 2nd endings in the original Yellow Book leadsheet, recommended chord(s) will be indicated in parentheses or as an alternate harmony in Red . Typically the last measures or turnbacks will be a chord that resolves to and harmonically leads you to the next section or turning you back to the same section. Typically a V or direct substitution of that next chord.

Reference Key

This is the key of the source leadsheet.

• Brown Eyed Girl is in 4/4 time and the Key of C . Original key is Key of G

Harmonic Principles Used:

These are the harmonic principles used in Brown Eyed Girl.

• Full Diatonic – Major

Nashville Number System (NNS)

Nashville Numbering System always uses four bars/measures per line, no bar lines, and default is each number of the number of beats per bar/measure based on the time signature. If multiple chords in same bar then they are underlined. It can be as simple as converting the Roman Numerals above to Arabic numbers.

At its simplest you simply replace the roman numbers with Arabic numbers. e.g., I becomes 1 , II becomes 2 , etc. The only exception is the bVII7 chord becomes 7 as this borrowed chord from the Mixolydian tonality is so common and the VII (half-diminished seventh) in a major chord is so rare (actually never). And, you could go as far as saying all the modes are numbered: I II III IV V VI VII — just as in the major scale. So calling it a 7 is not that far out.

NOTE: This will give you an idea of just what the Nashville Number System is–basically a Harmonic Analysis (HA/RMA) using Arabic numbers vs. traditional Roman Numerals with a specific goal of creating a shorthand roadmap of a song that can be performed in ANY key. The main reason it was created in the first place in Nashville studios was to save time and money and not have to rewrite a chart for a singer in a different key than the original chart.

Here is a good overview of the The Nashville Number System Demystified by Dave Martin (July 8, 2022) . Bottom line is you need to know your music theory and how chords work.

Check the definitive book Nashville Number System

Scale Selection

Once a Harmonic Analysis has been completed, scale selections can be made. These scale selections can be either vertical or horizontal choices. And, really, only needed if you are going to take a solo or embellish the melody with added notes.

Scale Abbreviation Legend

Traditional Scales: Maj: Major (Ionian), Nat Min: Natural Minor, Dim: Diminished, WT: Whole Tone, Har Min: Harmonic Minor

Contemporary Scales: Minor Pent: Minor Pentatonic, Pent: Major Pentatonic, Blues

Scale/Mode Names: Ion: Ionian (Major), Dor: Dorian (Minor), Phrygian: Phrygian, Lyd: Lydian, Mix: Mixolydian (Dominant), Aeol: Aeolian (Natural Minor), Loc: Locrian

Altered Scales: Mix+4: Mixolydian Plus 4 / Lydian Dominant, Mix-2-6: Mixolydian flat 2, flat 6

Checkout the Lesson Series: Harmonic Analysis for Scale and Chord Selection or download the Harmonic Analysis for Scale and Chord Selection book. And the QuickStart Series of Scale and Arpeggio books.

Performance Notes

It's good to be able to play any song in any key. Which can be a daunting task. However, there are a few songs from the Daily Ukulele book that are more popular in another key. Brown Eyed Girl is one song where it is good to know how to play it in the original of Key of G . Especially if you jam with guitar players — They'll prefer the original key.

• Key of C: Download PDF
• Key of G: Download PDF

Intro Key of C (Daily Ukulele Book)

Low G, C Tuning @svg('arrow-circle-up', 'text-brand-300')

High G, C Tuning

Intro Key of G (Original)

Low G, C Tuning @svg('arrow-circle-up', 'text-brand-300')

Chorus Key of C

Low G, C Tuning @svg('arrow-circle-up', 'text-brand-300')

Chorus Key of G (Original Recording)

Links & Resources

• wikiwand Brown Eyed Girl
• Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl (Official Audio)