Oh My Darling, Clementine
Strumming: 3/4 waltz: oom cha cha
Focus: Two chords (G ↔ D7) + a 3/4 waltz "oom-cha-cha" groove
Transpose · Capo
The original key is inferred from the first chord in the chart. Transposing changes the chords you have to play; to keep easy shapes, switch to “Capo” instead.
💡 Too high to sing? Move down. Too low? Move up. Guys often go a few keys below the original, women a bit above — that's just a starting point. You've got it right when you can sing the highest line of the chorus comfortably.
Chords in this song
✦ = harder to play (mostly barre); try a capoChord progression
Play-along
Chords change automatically to the beat (following the current key G). Get it smooth slowly, then speed up.
One bar of count-in first, then the chord changes automatically each bar. Get it smooth slowly, then speed up bit by bit.
Practice ladder · from playing it to playing it well
Not sure how to practice? Follow these four steps — each has a clear goal and a concrete method.
- 1
Get the chords ringing
Goal: every chord clear, no buzzingGet this song's 2 chords ringing one by one and switchable (G · D7). Press each alone first, then switch in pairs; for any that won't ring, scroll to “Don't know these chords?” below, or use the chord-change timer for a one-minute challenge.
- 2
Play it through in time
Goal: no stalls with the metronome, start to finishUsing the “3/4 waltz: oom cha cha” strum, open the metronome and connect the whole song from a slow tempo, no pausing on the changes.
- 3
Play it with feel
Goal: dynamics and a sense of breathTwo chords (G ↔ D7) + a 3/4 waltz "oom-cha-cha" groove。
- 4
Own it & make it yours
Goal: explain why it works and change up your own versionUnderstand why the harmony goes the way it does, then use the Transpose / Capo control above to change keys, and try reworking the rhythm, adding color chords or improvising — turn “I can play this one” into “I can play many.”
Music theory deep dive
Key: G majorUnderstanding why a song's harmony moves the way it does matters more than memorizing the chords.
Structure
Chord function
Function: Tonic= the stable home · Subdominant= sets up the departure · Dominant= tension that wants to come home. Harmony is the story of leaving → tension → coming home.
Highlights
- Playing approachHow exactly to play “oom-pah-pah”
Beat 1, the “oom”: pluck only the root — for the G chord pluck the 6th string 3rd fret, for D7 pluck the open 4th string; beats 2 and 3, the “pah-pah”: lightly strum those high strings. Put all the weight on the “oom” and keep the pah-pahs at half strength, and that “heavy–light–light” sway is the waltz. When changing chords the bass moves house along with you (6th string 3rd fret ↔ open 4th string) — and this move is also the entry point to alternating bass later on.
Tip: Don't strum at first: with the right hand just play “root—clap—clap,” count 1 2 3 aloud, tap your foot along, and once it's swaying, add the strum.
- Functional harmonyThe whole tune has only I and V7: a minimal training ground for the earIIV7I
The entire tune is just two chords, G (I · home) and D7 (V7 · wants to come home). Don't practice it by staring at the chart: sing along, and the moment your ear hears that “held back, wanting to land” pull, switch to D7; the moment the sense of landing appears, return to G. With the judgment narrowed to one of two, it's the minimal training ground for turning “harmonic function” from knowledge into an ear reflex — the C↔G7 of “Wildwood Flower” is the same routine.
- RhythmAnacrusis into the song: get swaying first, then open your mouth
The opening word comes before the downbeat (an anacrusis); let “heavy–light–light” turn for two bars first and get your body swaying before coming in, and the accented word lands right on the next bar's “oom.” A triple-time anacrusis is more fearful of flustering than a quadruple one: open your mouth before the beat is steadily turning and the whole section will sway apart.
Don't know these chords? Learn them in the courses
Published by Percy Montrose in 1884 (a US pre-1929 publication, now in the public domain). Just two chords (G and D7) plus a 3/4 waltz, it's great material for two-chord waltzes. Only a simplified chord progression is given here.