Perfect chords

How to play Perfect

Play Perfect with G, Em, C and D shapes at capo 1, sounding in Ab. The main challenge is the flowing compound pulse and the faster chord changes in the chorus. This chart uses short 6/8 practice bars: two of its boxes make one original 12/8 bar. Keep that convention in mind before comparing the boxes with another chart or starting the player.

Count two groups of three in each box

The original 12/8 meter has four large dotted-quarter beats, each divided into three eighth notes. We split that into pairs of 6/8 boxes to show the quicker chorus changes clearly. Count ONE-two-three, TWO-two-three in each box. Two boxes together give four large pulses. The repeating groups of three are subdivisions; they do not make the song a three-beat waltz.

The six-slot grid D . . D . . places one gentle downstroke at the start of each group. Keep the two remaining eighth notes moving evenly in your count while the chord rings. This simple pulse helps you learn the harmony without attempting the recording’s individual picked notes. Once it is steady, let the second stroke stay lighter than the first instead of accenting every subdivision.

Change the order and the holding time

The verse goes G–G–Em–Em, then C–C–D–D. Repeated symbols mean another 6/8 box on the same chord: four large pulses on G before moving to Em. The pre-chorus begins in the same way, then finishes C–C–G–D. Those final G and D chords each last only one box, so prepare the D shape earlier than in the verse.

The chorus starts Em–C–G–D, with one box per chord. Practise Em into C first, then add G and D without inserting an extra hold. The verse and chorus share their chord set, but their starting point, order and harmonic pace differ. The page provides these main section exercises rather than the complete recorded sequence, instrumental passage or final slowdown.

Match the tempo unit to your count

The slow large pulse is about 63 dotted-quarter beats per minute. This player uses quarter-note BPM, displayed with a quarter-note symbol, so its equivalent setting is 94.5. Both produce 189 eighth notes per minute. One six-eighth-note box therefore lasts about 1.90 seconds, and a pair lasts about 3.81 seconds.

If you practise with a separate metronome clicking once per large pulse, use approximately 63 instead. At a slower practice pace, keep the same groups of three between clicks. Changing the number alone without checking which note value it represents can make an otherwise correct accompaniment feel too slow. Start by tapping the two large beats of a box before switching on the chord loop.

Keep the open shapes clean under the capo

All fret numbers in the diagrams are relative to the capo. Our Em is 0-2-2-0-0-0; it is already a small two-finger shape. Em7 adds a seventh to that harmony, so choosing it changes the colour rather than simply fixing a difficult Em. Begin with the plain triads printed here and compare alternatives deliberately later.

D is x-x-0-2-3-2, so start its sweep at the fourth string. C is x-3-2-0-1-0 and starts on the fifth. G and Em can use all six strings. Check the tuning again after fitting the capo. Removing it while retaining these shapes lowers the entire arrangement from Ab to G; move the whole progression if you choose another singing key.

The section orders and paired 6/8 notation follow Denis Davoren’s Music to my Ears teaching chart. The original meter and dotted-quarter tempo are also explained in Super Simple Piano’s Perfect lesson. The tempo conversion above applies those units to this page’s player.