Anything wrong with my C major chord


Mick J
Registered User
Joined: 04/21/09
Posts: 39
Mick J
Registered User
Joined: 04/21/09
Posts: 39
04/28/2009 3:36 pm
Ok, to start with I'm new on here so I haven't yet viewed the majority of lessons and maybe this is answered elsewhere.
Most references that I have seen regarding the C major show 1st fret B string, 2nd fret D string, 3rd fret A string with the other strings played open (apart from bottom E which is not played)
I have always played the chord to include the 3rd fret on the bottom E, giving me the base note as a G. I know that this is still a C major chord although it might be some kind of an inversion but the positioning seems more natural to me and the chord sounds fuller.
So can I still use this formation, will it impede my progress on the lessons on here or should I change now?
# 1
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,371
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,371
04/28/2009 6:05 pm
Anywhere, in any order or position on the guitar that you can find and play the notes C, E and G you are playing a C major chord. You can double or triple the notes. For example, two Cs, an E and two Gs like you mention.
Originally Posted by: Mick JI know that this is still a C major chord although it might be some kind of an inversion but the positioning seems more natural to me and the chord sounds fuller.[/quote]
The precise term for what you have there is a different voicing of the C major chord. We have and use different voicings to achieve different sounds for different purposes.

An inversion is more precisely when the chord has a different bass note.

See here:
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=148
[QUOTE=Mick J]
So can I still use this formation, will it impede my progress on the lessons on here or should I change now?

You can and should use that C major voicing. You can and should learn and use many, many more voicings of the C major chord.

Look here for ideas on how to accomplish this goal:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=383
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=389
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=378
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=450
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=464
Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor

Christopher Schlegel Lesson Directory
# 2
sixpicker
Telecastered Instructor
Joined: 03/12/04
Posts: 756
sixpicker
Telecastered Instructor
Joined: 03/12/04
Posts: 756
04/29/2009 12:28 am
My Dad always called that a full C chord, and good job on doing that. I use both positions depending on what I'm doing, it makes it easier to alternate the bass notes too.

JD
# 3
Mick J
Registered User
Joined: 04/21/09
Posts: 39
Mick J
Registered User
Joined: 04/21/09
Posts: 39
04/29/2009 5:26 pm
Thanks for that guys. I've always thought that I was quite well up on the theory (unlike my dexterity) but looking at the links that Christopher has posted it seems that I still have a lot to learn!
# 4
2thankful4words
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Joined: 05/04/09
Posts: 5
2thankful4words
Registered User
Joined: 05/04/09
Posts: 5
05/04/2009 7:50 pm
One of the things that I am having trouble with is where the different notes on the guitar lie on a staff. Can anyone recommend a good book that shows maybe the tabs and the notes? I can read the notes on the staff, and I know most of the notes on the guitar, but knowing that this note is middle C, and this is the C above middle C, etc, is something I need to work on.
# 5
emarwood
Registered User
Joined: 04/06/08
Posts: 16
emarwood
Registered User
Joined: 04/06/08
Posts: 16
05/31/2009 4:43 pm
Originally Posted by: 2thankful4wordsOne of the things that I am having trouble with is where the different notes on the guitar lie on a staff. Can anyone recommend a good book that shows maybe the tabs and the notes? I can read the notes on the staff, and I know most of the notes on the guitar, but knowing that this note is middle C, and this is the C above middle C, etc, is something I need to work on.



I have recently brought a book called Teach Yourself Guitar Scales for Absolute Beginners it's written by Cliff Douse and includes a play-along CD
As long as by Staff you mean the same thing as I do when I say Fingerboard this might be a good book.

Then there is this book I've got out of my local library called The complete Guitarist by Richard Chapman forward by Les Paul go to Page 40 to see where all the notes are on the fingerboard. Plus the book has info on the history of the Guitar and lots of stuff to teach yourself too.

Have fun.
We know not the minute or the hour. We should live each lipgloss as if it's our last. (Marian Keys. The Nicest Thing That Ever Happened to Me)
# 6

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