How to Play Till There Was You Chords on Guitar

“Till There Was You” is a song written by Meredith Willson for the musical “The Music Man”. It was later covered by The Beatles and became one of their early hits. The song is a romantic ballad that features a catchy melody and some interesting chord changes. In this article, we will show you how to play “Till There Was You” on guitar using the original key of F major.

The Chords

The chords for “Till There Was You” are mostly diatonic to the key of F major, except for a few secondary dominants and borrowed chords. Here is the chord progression for the verse and chorus:

           F          B7
There were bells on a hill
      Gm               Bbm
But I never heard them ringing
     F     Am            Gm  
No I never heard them at all
C              F Gm  C C7
Till there was you

           F            B7
There were birds in the sky
      Gm             Bbm
But I never saw them winging
     F     Am          Gm  
No I never saw them at all
C              F  B7
Till there was you

               Bb         Bbm       F
Then there was music, and wonderful roses
     D           Gm             G7         C         C7
They tell me, in sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and you

          F          B7
There was love, all around
      Gm             Bbm
But I never heard it singing
     F     Am          Gm  
No I never heard it at all
C              F  Gm C C7
Till there was you

               Bb         Bbm       F
Then there was music, and wonderful roses
     D           Gm             G7         C        C7
They tell me, in sweet fragrant meadows of dawn and you

          F          B7
There was love, all around
      Gm             Bbm
But I never heard it singing
     F     Am          Gm  
No I never heard it at all,
C              F  Gm C 
Till there was you

C     C7             F    C#    F    
Tiiiiiill  there was youuuuuuuuuuuuu

The Strumming Pattern

The strumming pattern for “Till There Was You” is a simple down-up-down-up pattern that follows the 4/4 time signature. You can accent the first and third beats to create a more rhythmic feel. Here is an example of how to strum the first four bars of the verse:

1   2   3   4   1   2   3   4
D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U
F       Fmaj7    Bb      Bbm6

You can also add some variations to the strumming pattern, such as skipping some downstrokes or adding some muted strums. For example, you can strum the chorus like this:

1   2   3   4   1   2   3   4
D U D U D U D U D U x U x U x U
F       Am7      Dm7     Gm7 C7

The Melody

The melody of “Till There Was You” is based on the notes of the F major scale, with some chromatic passing tones. The melody follows the chord tones and outlines the harmony of the song. Here is an example of how to play the melody for the first four bars of the verse:

e|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B|-1---0-----------|-3---1---0-------|-1---0-----------|-3---1---0-------|
G|-------2---0-----|-----------2---0-|-------2---0-----|-----------2---0-|
D|-------------3---|---------------3-|-------------3---|---------------3-|
A|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
  F       Fmaj7      Bb      Bbm6

You can also add some embellishments to the melody, such as slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, or vibrato. For example, you can play the chorus like this:

e|-1---------------|-5/8---5---------|-6/8---6---------|-8/10--8---------|
B|-1---------------|-6/8---6---------|-6/8---6---------|-8/10--8---------|
G|-2---------------|-5/8---5---------|-5/8---5---------|-5/8---5---------|
D|-3---------------|-7/8---7---------|-7/8---7---------|-7/8---7---------|
A|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
  F       Am7        Dm7     Gm7 C7

Conclusion

“Till There Was You” is a beautiful song that showcases the versatility of the guitar. You can play it as a solo piece or as a accompaniment for singing. You can also experiment with different keys, chords, strumming patterns, and melodies to make it your own. We hope this article helped you learn how to play “Till There Was You” on guitar. Have fun and keep practicing!