| | | Hey Friend,
I sat down this morning with my guitar and placed two fingers on the fingerboard: ring finger on the fifth string, seventh fret and my index finger on the fifth fret of the third string. Everything else was wide open. I started picking the strings in an arpeggio pattern to see if anything would pop into my head or catch my ear.
After a couple minutes of adding a finger here or there, I had a cool sounding walk-down progression that can easily be expanded into a full song.
Wanna see what the end result was after just 5 minutes of trial and error?
Here are the exercise files.
Now before you start hyper-ventilating, disregard the chord names. They're just names - and names don't define us, do they?
Well, I guess in the case of guitar chords, they do!
Something interesting about chord names is that each chord in this progression has a number of different names, based on the notes in the chord and which note you choose as the bass note. Notice the chords that have the '/' in the name. That slash tells you which note is the bass note (lowest) played of the chord.
Also, remember that the 'addX' designation is just telling you that a note from the next octave is included in the chord.
For example, the Amadd9/E chord is just telling us that we started with an A minor chord (Am) rooted on the E note (/E). We then added the open B string note, which is the ninth note in the A major scale if you expand past the first octave. Here's the A major scale...
NOTES A B C# D E F# G# A B C# = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 INTERVALS
That B note is the ninth note in second octave from the root note.
Honestly, I'm not sure how you decide which name to use. My initial guess is that it depends on the primary key that the song is written in. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to pure theory (it's a good thing I like that sort of stuff).
Let me also point out that I used a couple of our good friends the power chords in this progression. While you can play straight power chords using only the root and fifth notes, you create something entirely different when you allow an additional open string or two.
You don't have to know the names to be creative. Rely on your ears to tell you what sounds good. Be creative with your fingering. Experiment. That's how musicians come up with new and interesting sounds.
You wouldn't necessarily know it at first listen, but bands like the Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind made their mark due to their use of different string tunings and chord fingerings. They certainly didn't learn that stuff through a Mel-bay Guitar lesson book! They learned the sounds through experimentation and practice.
Trust yourself and your ears. Break some rules (in fact, maybe it's better you don't know all the rules). Make it fun. It's Saturday, Yo!
Here's a challenge: take some power chords and move them around the neck, playing some strings open, maybe skipping some strings. Just goof around and enjoy it.
If you need ideas for power chords, get your hands on Easy Power Chords. I've included some fingerings that will blow your minds - IF you decide to use this little trick I've exposed today (open strings). You can get Easy Power Chords here!
Peace out~
Dave
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