Wayfaring Stranger — Traditional
There are countless recordings and arrangements of Wayfaring Stranger. Here's a transcription of the Emmylou Harris recording—a nicely chorded version in the key of C minor. It's the first recording in the player on the right. You can click on the player to hear a 30 second preview of Emmylou's recording, and you can listen to all other versions of Wayfaring Stranger. There are some really great arrangements! Wayfaring Stranger — in C minorEmmy Lou Harris recorded of Wayfaring Stranger is in C minor, however the C minor song sheet below does do not represent the guitar fingering used on the recording. To match the guitar chording, refer to the A minor transposition below.
The key of C minor is rather daunting for most folk guitarists, because C minor is an inherently awkward key for folk guitar, and since it requires bar chords, it's tiring too. Not surprisingly, on Emmylou Harris' recording the guitar work (probably by Tony Rice and/or Brian Aheren) is played with a capo at the 3rd fret in the key of A minor, as shown in the following chord transposition. Transpose it yourselfThe A minor transposition below was generated with Key Switch. It's really easy to do: All of the transpositions on this page were created with Key Switch, including the Roman numeral chart. There's nothing special about the song sheets on this page. With Key Switch you can create transpositions from any song sheet! Wayfaring Stranger — Transposed to A minorCapo 3 to match the key of the Emmylou Harris recording in C minor. This is the way most guitarist would play in C minor: using A minor fingering with a capo at the third fret.
Wayfaring Stranger — Transposed to E minorE minor is another perfectly comfortable key for guitar. Here's a verse and chorus in E minor
Wayfaring Stranger — Transposed to Roman NumberingHere is verse 1 with chords transposed to Roman Numbering
Transpose songs online with Key Switch
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The MP3 player above contains numerous versions of Wayfaring Stranger, starting with the Emmylou Harris recording from her Roses in the Snow album. If you hear a version you like, you can click to buy. The transaction is handled directly by Amazon through your existing Amazon account.* (Click for instructions on using Amazon's MP3 player/previewer) There is no 'correct' set of chords for Wayfaring Stranger. In fact, you'll hear many variations of chordal accompaniment in the recordings above. These recordings showcase many variations in the melody and harmony as well. An artist's choice of chords uniquely colors the background of a song. It's a cornerstone element used by song writers and arrangers. Obviously, not any chord will do. Certain chords will sound distinctly wrong, but there are many, many artistic options. It's all a matter of art, preference, creativity, experimentation, and style. Discretion if advised: a surprising chord substitution can really add kick to an arrangement ...or it may sound like a cheap trick. Well chosen chords create style and possibly a distinct and enduring sound. Some chord choices steer a song toward a stylistic sound or genre, for instance, Eva Cassidy's jazz rendition of Wayfaring Stranger. The chords on the left are for the Emmylou Harris version: The first version is in the key of C minor; the key she recorded it in. The next version is transposed to A minor; a better key for folk guitar, and the key her guitarist played in (capo 3.) The next version is transposed to E minor, this is another solid guitar key, for anyone who has trouble singing to the chords in A minor. And finally, there's a verse in Roman numbering. Roman numbering is a universal language that helps musicians communicate and understand chord progressions. You can copy and paste any of these versions into Key Switch, and transpose to a new key ... to any key you want! Why transpose? Singers have clout ... and indeed they should!) Singers and instrumentalists often need to transpose a song to find a key that fits the singer's voice. Instrumentalists also transpose to keys that suits their instrumental talents or the range of their instrument. Have fun trying Wayfaring Stranger in different keys. If you like the chords used by one of the other artists, see if you can figure them out. I'll have some pointers here soon on learning chords by ear. You'll hear lots of variations in melody and vocal phrasing on the various recordings. If you're a singer or arranger, listen through, pick two or three favorite versions, and really study them. With some diligent attention you may be able to try out lots of ideas, phrasings, chords and harmonies. Take your favorite ideas and mix and match. Experiment for a while before settling on a design. Then work with it for a while. After you've spent some time your arrangement and vocal part, ease up and let your imitations ferment for a while. Stay away from the song for a week or two. Upon revisiting it you'll probably hear that some metamorphosis has occurred, your arrangement has changed, and your imitations have begun to take their own shape, reforming themselves into a rendition that's a natural emergence of your own style. Listen again to the original recording to see if there are any remaining ideas that you want to imitate. This is especially important if you want to gain a sophisticated style of vocal timing and phrasing. It's timing that makes great singers; they sing very complex rhythms that are off the grid of quarter and eighth notes. Listen, imitate, and hone your own style. Pablo Casals said, "Good artists borrow. Great artists steal." Or was it Picasso. One of those Spaniards. * I've provided links for purchasing from Amazons music store. I would have provided links for purchasing from the iTunes Store, but most iTunes downloads are in an M4p protected format, and Transcribe can't play this type of sound file. Transcribe(by www.SeventhString.com) is my favorite software for studying music and learning music by ear. As an honest member of the music community I want to be able to use my purchased music in all of my music playing software. That's why I buy and recommend MP3s from Amazon. The are unprotected mp3 recordings, and they work with Transcribe, and probably any other audio software. Here's an article on Transcribe ... and some Transcribe resources that I've created, which are currently available for free. I've used Transcribe mainly for learning instrumental music by ear. Vocalists also use Transcribe for studying voice: to practice vocal timing, to observe and imitate vocal inflections, and to perfect vowel sounds and diphthong transitions ...
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