Acoustic Guitar Magazine | 9 years ago
In the first handful of examples, you’ll take basic chord shapes you likely already know, and move them up and down the neck against the ringing open strings to find colorful new sounds.
Ex. 1 shows how you can get maximum mileage from the good old open-E shape (fingered with fingers 2, 3, and 1 on strings 5, 4, and 3): 13 different sounds for the price of one. There are multiple ways of labeling some of the harmonies; I’ve used the most straightforward chord symbols here. But don’t concern yourself too much with the names of the chords. Instead, focus on their distinctive sounds. For instance, Fmaj7#11 (with the seventh, E, in the bass) is a sound that’s evocative of flamenco; Emaj7#5 is a colorful chord that’s commonplace in modern jazz.
Ex. 2 uses the same approach as Ex. 1, but with an open A chord (fingered 1–2–3 or 2–3–4 on strings 4, 3, and 2). After you’ve played through the chords, try working up Ex. 2 with an A minor shape (fingered 2–3–1) instead of A major. A few of the Am-based voicings I like a lot are the D6/9 that’s in the third position (with the first finger on string 2, fret 3), Amaj7 in fifth position, and Dm(add9) in sixth position.
For the entire lesson check out the October 2015 issue of Acoustic Guitar
