What chord are you drawn to?

[Joseph]

I know a lot of people where almost every time they pick up their guitar, the first chord they play is A minor. Where they have to purposely tell themselves to avoid it when doodling around trying to write a song. Where they have simply worn out the Am-Asus2-Asus4 motif. I guess, the chord, it's very comfortable for a lot of people, and from just relying on their immediate reaction, they want to play what feels good.


However, What's your favorite chord? The one that your fingers will always make unconsciously when you're stuck in the moment?

Theres something about the acoustic guitar, lately I've been drawn to it, especially with all my electric guitars lying around. Theres just that simplistic feeling whenever you pick up an acoustic, where its much easier to write new songs, and it's easy to get into a nice groove without too much pressure. When I'm alone without any distractions, thats when I wail away with my electric guitars..

Yeah, it's safe to say that A minor is a chord that a lot of us tend to start out with, I guess out of mere habit, because this chord is so easy to form. I guess whenever I pick up the guitar, whether or not I'm just playing a simple progresssion, I'm always trying to apply new found knowledge to familiar territory, :).Which is inevitably how we grow as musicians. Lately I've naturally been looking for substitute chord voicings, replacing Em with em7 or EM9, it's a nice way to spice up things especially when writing new songs, and if you're not quite comfortable with your singing voice.

Another common practice in substitution is the interchanging of chords that share the same notes. For example, a Gmaj7 chord contains the notes g,b,d and f#. Since bm contains b,d,and f#, the two chords can often be interchangable. All of the notes of both chords don't necessarly have to correspond for this method to work. Sometimes somply by changing the root note of a chord, you can come up with a suitable subtitution...

Overall, the only limitation is in how far you want to go with the complexity of your voicings. In other words, let the style of music you are playing be your guide.



-Joseph

[Christoph]

I've been leaning towards the cluster chords lately. Really airy sounding, celtic stuff.

Other than that I've always liked add9s. Major and minor.

But what could be better than a good old E power chord? That has to be one of the coolest sounds in the whole world . . . when you strike that E power chord and let it ring.

[Zeppelin]

i'm not sure about the chord, but my favorite tonality should be Cm, i dont understand why did blues and rock players used Am and Em so much and rarely used Cm, because to me it has the real blues sound

[Fenderblues]

like christoph I too have been leaning towards celtic music.

when I first pick up the guitar I tend to go straight into scales for warm up then I play what ever I have decided to so it depends on the song as to the chord, sorry not much of an answer but its the best I can do

[James]

Celtic music is so beautifull, probably my favorite type of classical type music. Anyone know any sites to find celtic sheet music (ok fine, or tab).

As for chords, add9s are always fun, but if you REALLY want something that will get your rocks off, try an min7(add9). Such as

----------------3-
-------------1----
---------4--------
-----2------------
--0---------------

Is that it? Yeah I think so.. Amin9(add). You can also transpose this all up and down the neck- just the top part though, obviously not the bottom root. Unless you have an extra finger. Anyways, this chord is so beautifull, not so much if you strum it, but whatever, give it a try. I could just pick around this chord for hours. Well almost.

[Wide]

I'm an E guy...don't know why really.....:)

[Christoph]

Yeah, that's a great one. Am7add9. Satch uses one of those in "Tears in the Rain".

Try reversing the B and C in the fingering. Makes it a little easier to play.




E |---------3---------------------|
B |-------0-----------------------|
G |-----5-------------------------|
D |---2---------------------------|
A |-0-----------------------------|
E |-------------------------------|



By the way, James, I do have some Celtic sheet music. But it requires tuning your guitar to all these funky alternates.

[Christoph]

If you're really insane, try this fingering -



E |-------------------------------|
B |----------8--------------------|
G |--------5----------------------|
D |------9------------------------|
A |----7--------------------------|
E |--5----------------------------|

[donnie]

here it is, jimi is so sick!

|-------------------|
|--------8----------|
|------7------------|
|----6--------------|
|--7----------------|
|-------------------|

[Dave How]

9ths and Ma7's seem to be the first chords I go for and they really seem to mix well with each other. I also quite like shoving a diminished in between chords. It's also fun to move your fingers around and "find" a new chord, I've done that a few times but it always gives me a headache afterwards trying to name what I played.

[Lordathestrings]

E7 at the 5th fret. It gives me a good idea of how accurate the guitar's tuning/intonation is, before I get into stuff that demands a well-set-up guitar.

[James]

Yeah I love maj7 chords as well. They have a great airy sound. This is a great topic, I love discussing cool chords.

Hey Christoph, you mentioned cluster chords before... could you explain to me what those are? I heard the term once before but never really explored what they are.

[skee1]

Here's a nice wes m jazz style Am7 add9 plus more.
Nice sliding inside chord.




E[-------X-------------------------]
B[-------5---------8---------------]
G[-------5-------------------------]
D[----------6----------------------]
A[--------------7------------------]
E[-------X-------------------------]
1 2 3 4




Mark

[skee1]

Here's a nice flash G chord to use when you get bored,
when playing country.





E[------------5-----------]
B[------------------------]
G[------------------------]
D[------------------------]
A[------------------------]
E[---3--------------------]
T P
Use side of thumb and pinky to pull this off.
This will make your guitar friends take notice.ha


Mark

[Edited by skee1 on 08-29-2001 at 02:58 PM]

[Christoph]

A cluster chord is a chord that takes two or more of its tonalities sequencially from the scale pattern. In other words, the notes of the chord are grouped together in the scale. The Am7add9 that we were talking about is a cluster chord. The B and C are a half step apart in the C major scale, and that half step is what gives the chord the airy sound.

Take a look at this chord -


E |------------|
B |--3---------|
G |--0---------|
D |--4---------|
A |--0---------|
E |------------|


I'm not sure what to call it (Am7aug6sus4 maybe. LOL, I dunno), but it's definitely a cluster chord. A, Gb, and G right in a row. A-minor Dorian scale, by the way.

You will definitely know a cluster chord when you hear it. They always hit you right in the ear.

[SGgothSoundGod]

I'd have to go with the E. I just love the first sound of it like in "Back in Black".

[James]

ah I see, so basically it's just a chord that contains two notes that are a half step apart, for example in an add9 chord. Cool.

[Christoph]

Well, by that definition, a minor add9 would be a cluster chord, but a major add9 wouldn't.

[James]

Oh ok, so not necessarily a half step but just sequential notes... kinda like you said.. hehe stupid me


That chord you posted before, the Am7aug6sus4 or whatever... it was almost like an Em7(add9). Maybe its an Em7(add9)/A.

So anyone else have any cool chords they want to share?

[Christoph]

Yeah, I guess it is, except with A in the bass, instead of B.


Yet another cool chord -


E |--0---------|
B |--7---------|
G |--6---------|
D |--6---------|
A |--7---------|
E |------------|

[James]

Hey that's a cool one. I tried dropping the C down to a B and sounded cool too.

An Em(add9), at least when you drop the C. With the C... hmm... well then you have a sharp fifth, but I'm not sure what to call that. EmAug5(add9)?

Here's another cool one, just a different voicing of Dm(add9) (gotta love those add9s).

-----------0---------
---------6-----------
-------7------------
-----7----------------
---5-----------------
---------------------

[Christoph]

Hmmm . . . in that previous chord of mine, those are 6's, not 5's. (I guess it's hard to read with the code thing on)

So from top to bottom the chord is 7-6-6-7-0. Kind of a jazzy thing.


By the way, great topic Joseph. Talking chords is cool.

[Joseph]

Rhythm guitarists are more recognized today than they were in the eighties, before they were just regarded for filling in the empty spaces, but now they are respected for being superb songwriters. The eighties metal scene had some great moments, and great memories, but toward the end it was all becoming too egotistical! Since Kurt Cobain came onto the music scene, everyone realized that with a few chords, a musician could really open themselves up into many different forms of creativity.

Lately, I've have to say that I have a natural inclination toward jazz chord structure, whenever I have the tape recorder running at night it's great to rely on your natural instincts. I love recording stuff one night, only to forget where it came from the next day almost as if you didn't write it where you have to re-live the moment all over again.

You're right guys, this is a great topic, and you guys have very interesting tastes. I'de be more than happy to work with you guys on a professional standpoint! :)

-Joseph

[trickwillie]

Hmmm for some bizarre reason I am always drawn to the A-D-E chord progression.

[Christoph]

How about posting some of those jazz chords?

[educatedfilm]

Dsus2, i dont know why, it's a nice enough chord on it's own, but i like to use a lot cos if music was food it's would be bread, it goes with almost everything.
i use these too, i dont know what they're called (my music thoery is dire)

E |-----5--0---0----0|
B |--3--3--0---10---0|
G |--0--2--9---9----6|
D |--4--0--11--0----7
A |--0----------------0|
E |------------------|

[blackrose]

whenever i am trying to write a song i always come back to the same chords...its kind of wierd. they are: A2, G/B, Dm, and Em. I also like doing some stuff with G/Bm/A (all barre chords). I know that these are just basic chords, nothing fancy like all the cluster and celtic chords you guys like, but theres just something that grabs me about the absolute pure sound of simple chords...its like they play themselves and you just listen and let it become a part of you. i dont know, maybe im just psycho. but anyways, theres nothing wrong with having a passion for music. i hope.

[James]

Blackrose, what you said kind of reminds me of my girlfriend. Sometimes she gets on my case when I'm foolin around with complex chords and wonders if I'm capable of appreciating a simple major or minor chord (she's a big Dylan fan... go figure). What I say is, of course I'm able to appreciate them and enjoy them, but more complex chords seem to be able to say just so much more.

I like to try excercices to boost my creativity, like, picture a cold winter night with a light snow falling gently onto a ground almost blue from the moonlight. Then put a chord to this image. Lately I've been getting min7add9
chords... it just seems to be way more expressive then just an A minor.

btw blackrose, what's an A2 chord? I've never heard of it before

[blackrose]

youve probably heard of it before and im just calling it the wrong thing. it is-
E 0
A 0
D 2
G 2
B 0
E 0
and the funny thing is i dont usually listen to the type of music i like to play. i more often than not listen to intense stuff, whereas i like playing more beautiful sounding stuff.

[ekstasis16]

The one chord drilled into my unconscious mind is:
E:0
B:0
G:3
D:4
A:4
E:2

just because I've heard Vai use it so much live. I'm a big fan of creating these 'cluster' chords everyone has been talking about lately. Two others I like are:
E:12
B:10
G:11
D:0
A:x
E:x

E:0
B:0
G:8
D:6
A:4
E:x

[Christoph]

Ekstasis, yeah, those are some killer ones. I love that F# cluster chord. I've used that in a few songs myself.

That last one, the Dbadd9(whatever), works well for transitions. Try going between it and an Aadd9 chord. Like this -

E:0 E:0
B:0 B:0
G:8 G:6
D:6 D:7
A:4 A:7
E:x E:5

[Joseph]

Originally posted by Christoph

How about posting some of those jazz chords?

You know, it's important to ask yourself, "What is it that everybody likes about a certain type of music?" For example, I never reall appreciated jazz; thinking it was a bunch of sophomoric people wanking off, just to show much they could impress others. For the most part, I was wrong, and an unexperienced kid. there's so much left to be studied and all kinds of other things that are incredibly vibrant and powerful, it all depends on if we have the will to succeed beyond belief.


There are some great lessons here, (http://www.wholenote.com/default.asp?iTarget=http%3A//www.wholenote.com/cgi-bin/page_view.pl%3Fl%3D443) This is very similiar to what I've been using in my songs as of late.

-Joseph

[Christoph]

Diminished chords huh?

I've never played around with diminished chords too much, because I think they sound completely hideous most of the time. A diminished chord is a major chord with a flat 5th and 3rd, right?

It's interesting what that guy said in his lession, that any note of the chord can be the root note and that if you flat any one note of the chord it becomes a 7th.

I'll have to play around with these.

[chris mood]

The day I heard Jimi play the E7#9 chord i was hooked

[chris mood]

Diminished chords are pretty cool once you figure out how to use them, and the scales that go with them. A common way of using them is to incert them in between 2 chords whose roots are a whole step apart, ex; G7 G#dim7 A- D7, check out Fats Wallers Ain'tMisbehavin for a good ex of this.

You can also take a dim.7 chord & slide it around on the neck of the guitar in -3rds. Check out the Beatles song Michelle for this idea (it's a great chord prog.)

By the way Christoph, an easier way of thinking of the formula for a diminished7 chord is to take the Dom7 chord & sharp the root-you may already know this stuff, I haven't veiwed the lesson yet.

[Christoph]

Are you talking about dim7th chords, or just regular dim chords?

I'm not that familiar with dim7 chords, but by inference I can assume that they are a dimished chord with a flat 7th. So take a major chord, flat the 3rd and the 5th, add a 7th, and then flat it. Is that right?

[chris mood]

you take a major 7th & b3 b5 & double flat the 7th (or you can think of it as a 6th)