Everything you wanted to know about Guitar Chords

Discussion in 'Beginner's Q&A Forum' started by i'm_not_neo, May 14, 2007.

  1. i'm_not_neo

    i'm_not_neo el valor máximo absoluto

    Chords:

    Level 1 Chords:
    Basic Open Chords (A,D,E,G,C,Am,Dm,Em)

    Level 2 :
    Dom 7th Open Chords (C7,A7,G7,E7,D7,B7)
    Suspended Open Chords 1 (Dsus4,Dsus2,Asus4,Asus2,Esus4)
    Power Chords (6th string roots,5th string roots)

    Level 3:
    Basic Barre Chords
    Suspended Open Chords 2 (Csus2/4,Fsus2/4,Gsus4,Esus2,Bsus4)
    Maj7 and Min7 Open Chords

    ********
    How To Play Barre Chords?
    Practise!!!!
    1)Practiced getting just the barre down....try to make the whole barre sound with my index finger from the first to the sixth string.
    2)learn songs which involve barre chords and try to play them at your OWN speed.
    3)try playing the G Scale (from 3rd fret of 6th string) by completely barring the third fret throughout the whole scale,that'll increase the barring strength..
    4)As usual go for accuracy and timing rather than speed..make sure no buzzes are heard and use a really really slow tempo...
    5)Use you thumb the gain pressure for the index finger.

    (by bjr,i'm_not_neo,saurabh_taurian)

    **************

    How to sing and play at the same time?

    the first thing is to do with the guitar itself. make sure you can play perfectly along to the record right in the rhythm. it is called 'muscle memory': u shd be always able to play the chords correctly whenever u want to, and not only sometimes. to do this, ur fingers and hands will learn to *remember* to summon up exactly the right muscles to tend to automatically shape themselves accordingly in the next chord shape and move along in the right direction to form that chord without yourself even having to think of pushing them to do so.

    then at first, you may avoid singing entirely. just hum along the tune while playing. u'll realise this is much easier to do and goes well with the chords too most of the time.

    then u may graduate to singing and playing with the track. this is still kinda easier coz u can sometimes skip some singing portions if u find ur rhythm eluding u.

    then to start doing it on ur own... the first requisite to be able to add singing to the chords is to remember the song absolutely perfectly, the lyrics and the tune and the intonations and all. u may avoid some singing techniques like the tremolo in the beginning, as u can pick all that later again.

    (from guitarists.net)

    **********************

    How do I figure chords for a song?

    Chords

    So how do you do it? Well, I first listen closely a few times to the CD and get
    the general feel for the song, the layout, the sections, the different
    instruments etc. Then I sit down with my guitar and pick out the bass line, or
    even just the bass notes to the chord changes. This may take a while if the
    bass is tough to hear. Sometimes headphones help. The thing about bass notes is
    that there are no majors, minors, sevenths, suspensions or anything like that
    to confuse you when you're just getting started. I just start at the open E and
    continue up and down the string trying each note until one fits. I usually try
    the common keys (E, A, D, C & G) first. Then I restart the CD and narrow it
    down even more, until I have the first note, then the second, then the third.
    This process usually drives my wife crazy because she has now heard the first
    part of this song 14 times. So you might want to consider headphones.

    So once I have the bass notes I play along with the CD and just play the bass
    notes. I'll also try experimenting with other notes in case I am not sure of
    some of the notes. I often pick out a note a fifth up from the actual bass note
    and think it's right...until I poke around a bit more and play the right one.

    With bass notes...you'll know it when it's right.

    So now I have the chord changes. Now comes the easy part. If your tune is a
    contemporary rock tune then most likely the chords for those bass notes are
    either major or minor. Admittedly it is the minority of bands that employs a
    more intricate chord selection than these few. Be careful of bands like STP who
    use very creative chords.

    So now I just try adding in major chords to each of the bass notes that I had
    previously figured out. Certain ones will fit, others won't. For those that
    don't, try playing a minor chord and see if it fits better, sometimes the
    difference is subtle...try them both anyway.

    There are times in songs when you hear a guitar chord change but the bass
    doesn't. In this case the chords may be suspended chords that resolve to the
    bass note chord. These are tremendously common in rock guitar. They usually
    will be a suspended 2 or 4 chord. You can learn to recognize these by the lack
    of a bass note change. The alternate to that is when the bass note changes and
    the chord doesn't seem to change. This could be a mistake by the bass player,
    ....uh...just kidding...more likely is a chord with an altered bass note. Like
    playing a C major then a C/B to an Am7. The C major sounds the same troughout
    but the bass line descends.

    Listen closely for notes that ring throughout chord changes. Finding a common
    tone between two chords might help you find the chord type and fingering.
    Usually open strings sound different and are easy to pick out. Certain chord
    progressions have common notes. An example is a Dsus2 (or D9 or Dadd9) to E to
    F#m7 progression. The common note is E. (This is the chord progression to "Hey
    Jealousy" by Gin Blossoms).

    It also helps to know a bit about the band. Does the guitarist tune up or down,
    or to a different key, or use a capo? Are there certain chord fingerings that
    they use often? By the way don't try to pick out any Michael Hedges tunes until
    you get real good.

    For more complicated tunes and tunes with lots of chord changes you'll have to
    just keep working and listening very closely for the subtleties.

    Melody

    By now you may very likely have the chords to the tune all figured out. But now
    there may be a melody to figure out too. The trick to melodies is to get the
    first note. After that it gets easier. Pick out the first note of the melody
    just like you did the bass line. Pick a note on your guitar and figure out if
    it is higher or lower than the first note of the melody. Or maybe another
    salient note in the melody is easier.

    The chords will tell you what key you're in. From there you can play around in
    the major or minor scale in that key and find the notes that fit. Listen to the
    character of the string used to get the fingering. The same pitch will sound
    brighter if played on the higher strings at a lower fret as opposed to a lower
    string at a higher fret.

    Solo

    This works the same again for solos. Once you know the chords noodle around
    with the appropriate pentatonic scale until you get the general feel for the
    solo. Start with the root note (high or low) and proceed from there. If the
    guitarist uses scales more interesting than the pentatonic (hopefully) then try
    the major or minor scale for starters.

    Don't get too hung up on scales though. There is nothing that says that the
    notes in the solo have to be in a particular scale...this is art and the rules
    are meant to be broken.

    After a while of doing this with a number of different songs you will get to
    the point where you can play a chord progression and melody on your first or
    second try (really, you will). At first you may get a few of the notes wrong,
    but as you continue to play the tune you will make improvements to your
    transcription and to your ear in general.

    Try picking out a song in your head. Play the Star Spangled Banner from memory,
    or Pomp and Circumstance, or Mary had a Little Lamb, or Little Drummer Boy. It
    is very useful to be able to play a melody that you hear in your head. Don't
    worry about what note to start on or what scale to use. If you are playing from
    memory it doesn't matter, just play the notes you hear in your head and fiddle
    around until you get the melody right.

    Remember that, as in life, learning music is pyramidal. Everything builds on
    top of what has been previously learned. A solid foundation is essential to
    proper progress...and that takes time. Be patient, yet persistent. Push
    yourself, and reward yourself for all successes.

    (https://www.guitarists.net/lessons/view.php?id=7)
    ****************************
    How To Shift From One Chord To another?
    1. Place all of your fingers down on a chord that you have chosen to work on. For examples C. You might have to put your fingers down one at a time at first.

    2. Very slowly lift your fingers off of the strings. As you do, try to hold your fingers in the shape of the chord. Do not lift more than a centimeter away from the strings at first. Try to watch those stray fingers that do not want to obey your wishes.

    3. Put your fingers back down on the strings that they just came from. Try to make all of your fingers touch the strings at the same time.

    (Guitarists.net)
    ********************
     
  2. i'm_not_neo

    i'm_not_neo el valor máximo absoluto

    We'll post a link for all the chord diagrams perhaps..

    Please suggest any other common questions to be added and changes in existing one..

    @lord_neo..the later half is mostly from guitarists.net..its okay to paste articles from there or should we just post a link???
     
  3. srikool

    srikool New Member

    gud info for begginers........................seen some gud post in the community upto now................thanx dude
     
  4. angel_of_sin

    angel_of_sin bassist.....

    https://guitar.about.com/library/blchordlibrary.htm
    hw bout dis man???????????????
     
  5. angel_of_sin

    angel_of_sin bassist.....

    no replies yet?????????
     
  6. i'm_not_neo

    i'm_not_neo el valor máximo absoluto

    ^The link you gave is good but it doesn't show the basic chords i.e it shows all the chords of A but not A itself and beginners probably will look for the basic chords..
    I was thinking https://www.chordbook.com/guitarchords.php

    Thanks for the feedback though..
     
  7. hemkir

    hemkir New Member

    hi

    the site u gave is really good, but how will v play the F maj chord...as it shows 1st fret 3 ones...and 2 fret...so on..how to place fingers then
     
  8. i'm_not_neo

    i'm_not_neo el valor máximo absoluto

    You're supposed to barre 1st fret with 1st finger..the nos. indicate the corresponding finger..
     
    saurabhrocks likes this.

Share This Page