Everyone plays chords on the lower strings, which is cool but, sometimes it's cool to do higher register chords. For instance, playing with another guitar player, if you both bang away at let's say E7th on the low strings.....it can sound like mush!!! I've found myself playing with keyboard players over the years who play HUGE chord voicings and it takes up alot of "sonic space". If I were to play full voiced chords on all six strings, it'd be a trainwreck!!!!
Funk, Reggae, Rn'B,Soul, and Blues tunes can really benifit from chords based on the top four strings.....and quite frankly....more guitar players should know these. If you find yourself playing guitar for a living, big-assed power chords (while cool) may not always be appropriate. These voicings can save you. Here's a harmonized scale in E7;
--4---5---7---9--11---12---14---16-----
--3---5---7---8--10---12---13---15-----
--4---6---8---9--11---13---14---16-----
--2---4---6---7---9---11---13---14-----
--X-------------------------------------
--X-------------------------------------
So, we got E7-F#m7-G#m7-A7-B7-C#m7-F#dim-E7
Play these,and once you get em under your fingers, substitute these voicings in tunes where you'd normally play lower chords.
Here's some other ideas for these shapes;
1- "Stab" chords for Blues tunes
2- off-beats
3- try a 50's type rock n' roll tune and put these chords in place of horn section shots.
4- DON'T BE AFRAID OF A CLEAN TONE!!!! These work great with a clean sound!!!
5- If your guitar has two or more pickups, select one of the "out of phase" settings and play it against other instruments. You'll find your own little slice of the group sound and add to the overall BAND!!!
6- Find some Soul or Blues CD's and play along....experiment.
7- Remember....when you play with a group 80-90% of the time you're playing chords.....be as good as you can.
Hope this stuff helps someone broaden their guitar horizions!!!
Ian
