This question is a follow-on from question id 172651:

"'California Dreaming' guitar tab (for chord-challenged beginner if
poss)"

In that question, the researcher found me the following guitar
tablature:

Tabworld.com 
URL: http://www.thetabworld.com/Mamas_And_The_Papas__California_Dreamin_guitar_tab_56926/showtab.jsp

Now, I've been searching for the individual chords for this tab. I
came up with the following, but some don't sound quite right to me.
It's entirely possible they are in fact the right chords, but I just
haven't got the strumming pattern etc. right yet; or truly they could
be completely wrong.

I'd like a more experienced / capable guitarist to have a look at both
the tab for the song, and the chords I've dug up, and let me know if
I'm on the right track.

If these chords are correct, please just let me know with a quick
'yea'; however if you think I'm _not_ on the right track, can you
provide me with suitable chords so that I can get going, safe in the
knowledge that I'm not barking up the wrong tree. That would entail
more work, so if you think different chord diagrams are in order, I'll
reflect this in an additional payment.


Chords taken from: http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/

(is Bb5 equivalent to A#5...??)

        Bm                        Dm                        C
 x  B  F# B  D  F#         x  x  D  A  D  F          x  C  E  G  C  E
 ================          ================          ================
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  | (1)         |  |  |  | (1) |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
( )(1) |  |  | (1)         |  |  | (2) |  |          |  | (2) |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  |  |  | (2) |          |  |  |  | (3) |         ( )(3) |  |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  | (3)(4) |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |

        A                       Asus2                       D5
 x  A  E  A  C# E          x  A  E  A  B  E          x  x  D  A  D  x
 ================          ================          ================
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  | (1)(2)(3) |          |  | (2)(3) |  |          |  |  | (1) |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  | (2) |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |

        C5                       Bb5                        F5
 x  C  G  C  x  x          x  Bb F  Bb x  x          F  C  F  x  x  x
 ================          ================          ================
 |  |  |  |  |  |          | (1) |  |  |  |         (1) |  |  |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 | (1) |  |  |  |          |  | (3)(4) |  |          | (3)(4) |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+
 |  | (3)(4) |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |

        A5                        A7                
 x  A  E  A  x  x          x  A  E  G  C# E         
 ================          ================         
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |         
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+         
 |  | (1)(2) |  |          |  | (1) | (3) |         
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+         
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |         
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+         
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |         
 +--+--+--+--+--+          +--+--+--+--+--+         
 |  |  |  |  |  |          |  |  |  |  |  |

also, I'm a little puzzled as to the meaning of the open brackets
containing no number in the Bm & the C. (I take it where there are 2
instances of (1) in a chord, this is a bar with the index finger?)

Hi gan,

The chords are mostly correct or OK, but there are some flaws.

I think the Bm chords shown in the intro of the tab are wrong and
should be B flat major (or Bb5 or A#5), matching the chords on the
verses (and also the notes shown in the tablature).

I can suggest some minor changes to make it a bit simpler to play and
make it sound a bit more like the record:

Replace all the D5s with Dm.  Replace all the C5s with C.  Replace all
the A#5s with A# or Bb--these are the same thing.  Replace some or all
of the A5-A7 and A-A7 sequences with Asus4-A, according to your taste.

The empty parentheses () represent optional notes.  You can either
fret the string at that point and play it to get an additional note in
the chord, or you can not fret it and not play it.  It's up to you
whether the trouble of playing the note is worth the sound you get.

If a chord diagram shows the index finger playing two strings, it will
generally denote a bar chord.  That is the case with the Bm chord you
have.  Conceivably, if the two strings were adjacent, you could mash
your finger down between them to fret them both, but this would be
rare.

I hope this answer is helpful.  If you need any more information or
opinion, please ask for a clarification.

--efn

Thanks efn, your attention most appreciated. Meeting up with a
colleague of mine next week who doubles as my guitar tutor (although
he's little further on than I am myself), so now you've clarified the
basics for me I can get some practice in & hopefully we can get a good
jam going.

Thanks for the rating, your comments, and the tip!

--efn