Hey Friend,

Before we get into details of the chords I tabbed out for this song brewing in my head, let me just say... they're not as scary as they look by their names. Download the exercise files here. 

If you look at the shapes, only one chord could be a challenge, and that's only because you need to barre three strings with your index finger. There are other ways you can play it, but for chord changes, this one is closest to the the starting chord.

Again, the song is working out to be in the key of E major.

The chord progression starts out on a second inversion  A chord with a little extra somethin' somethin' in the "add9" to spice it up. Notice the /E in the name - that just tells us that the base note we're strumming is an E note (the five note from the A major chord, hence the second inversion). If you look closely at the chord chart, the note on the fifth string at the seventh fret is also an E note. Here's a reminder of the A chord notes: A, C#, E.

The "add9" is a B note, played on the open second string. "Add" chords are interesting. What you're doing is adding a note to an otherwise fully formed triad. This added note is not typically part of the chord structure, which is why it gets the special attention.

So our A major chord has notes A, C# and E, and then we add in a B note. It's designated as the 9 note because we move into the second octave of the scale. We go into the next octave because the chord has already used the 1, 3 and 5 notes from the scale in the first octave. Check it out...

A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#  <=>  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

String #: 6    5    4    3    2     1

Notes   : E   E    A   C#  B    E

Here's the fun part. Do you see how easy this chord is to play? Simply take an E major shape in the open position and slide it up to the seventh fret, keeping the other three strings open and strumming them as well. The B note helps create the airy sound of a suspended 2 chord, but you also get to maintain the fullness of the original A major chord.

That's the difference between an "add" chord and a suspended chord. With the suspended chord, the three note is replaced by either the two note or the four note in the major triad. For example, and Asus2 chord would be notes A, B (Cb - C flat) and E - see, no C# note.

I put "Cb" in parentheses to point out that technically, because we would be lowering the note from a C# to a B note, we're actually dropping a half step (semitone) down from C, so the note is Cb, not B. Any time you descend a scale and go down a half step, you would notate it as a flat note, even if it lands on a regular (natural) note. Don't get too hung up on it.

With an "add" chord, the two or four note is in addition to the usual three notes of the triad.

See, not scary at all (the Aadd9/E, that is). You've taken a simple chord shape you already know and turned it into a different sound just by moving it to a new position on the neck. By keep strings open instead of muting them, you get to add a new dynamic to the sound. Clean and beautiful.

I'm going to let that settle into you brain before we come to the next chord, which uses a power chord shape, but isn't a power chord. If nothing else, you can take the chord shapes from power chords and find interesting sounds by shifting strings or moving up or down the neck. 

There are a handful of power chord shapes you can learn in Easy Power chords. Once you know them, it's easy to start experimenting because your fingers don't have to change into too many different configurations. Take a look at Easy Power Chords right here.

We'll jump into the next chord tomorrow. Enjoy your Monday, Rockers.

Peace~

Dave