What if the same chord is repeated over several measures?
When the same chord is played several measures in a row, the beginning of each measure will still be marked with an underline even though there’s no actual chord change.
Note
Technically, nothing prevents those traditional chords to indicate where the second measure of that same chord starts. It’s just that, by convention, most chords will simply lack that information.
Let’s have a look at an example:
F
Listen as your day unfolds
G Am7
Challenge what the future holds
F G C
Try and keep your head up to the sky
F
Lovers, they may cause you tears
G Am7
Go ahead, release your fears
F G
Stand up and be counted, don't be 'shamed to cry
C
You gotta beAnd its one-pager counterpart:
Notice how every first line in each pair of lyrics has an underline to mark the second F measure of that line. To the contrary, in the traditional chords above, there’s nothing to indicate how the lyrics are aligned with the second F measure.
Tip
That’s actually a very nice feature of these one-pagers! Many songs have their lyrics aligned with the beginning of the second measure of the line instead of the first. Having that visual indication of where the second measure starts, even if there’s no chord change, is pretty helpful.
Check out this example for instance:
F Am
It's a god-awful small affair
Cm D7
To the girl with the mousy hair
Gm A#
But her mummy is yelling no
C7
And her daddy has told her to go
F Am
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Cm D7
Now she walks through her sunken dream
Gm A#
To the seat with the clearest view
C7 G#
And she's hooked to the silver screenNotice how, in the corresponding one-pager section, daddy and hooked are underlined to mark where the second C7 measure starts on these lines:
