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You are currently browsing the archives for the chordbook category.
Archive for the ‘chordbook’ Category
Open chords: Dsus4
Suspended chords explained: In a major or minor chord we have 3 notes that give us the chord spelling.
To create a suspended chord we need to replace the ‘3rd‘ in this case with the ‘4th‘.
For more information read the rest at bottom of page.
Open Chord: Dsus4
The box diagram below shows how to hold the Dsus4 if you’re previous chord is a D Major.
The box diagram below shows how to hold the Dsus4 if you’re previous chord is a D Minor.
Piano,
Chord Spelling: D, G, A
More info:
In the case of D major this would be D, F#, A
In the case of D minor this would be D, F, A
1st, 3rd, 5th = 3rd = maj 3rd(Dmajor) or min 3rd(Dminor)
The difference in a sus 4 chord is that the ‘3rd’ is suspended.
This means that it is replaced by the 4th.
The scale of D major: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D
The scale of D minor: D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D
As you can see the ’sus 2 ‘ is created by replacing the ‘3rd‘ with the ‘4th‘
Suspended chords explained: In a major or minor chord we have 3 notes that give us the chord spelling.
To create a suspended chord we need to replace the ‘3rd‘ in this case with the ‘2nd‘.
For more information read the rest at bottom of page.
Open Chord: Dsus2
Piano,
Chord Spelling: D, E, A
More info:
In the case of D major this would be D, F#, A
In the case of D minor this would be D, F, A
1st, 3rd, 5th = 3rd = maj 3rd(Dmajor) or min 3rd(Dminor)
The difference in a sus 2 chord is that the ‘3rd’ is suspended.
This means that it is replaced by the 2nd.
The scale of D major: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D
The scale of D minor: D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D
As you can see the ’sus 2 ‘ is created by replacing the ‘3rd‘ with the ‘2nd‘
Open Chord: Dsus2
Suspended chords explained: In a major or minor chord we have 3 notes that give us the chord spelling.
To create a suspended chord we need to replace the ‘3rd‘ in this case with the ‘2nd‘.
For more information read the rest at bottom of page.
Open Chord: Dsus2
Piano,
Chord Spelling: D, E, A
More info:
In the case of D major this would be D, F#, A
In the case of D minor this would be D, F, A
1st, 3rd, 5th = 3rd = maj 3rd(Dmajor) or min 3rd(Dminor)
The difference in a sus 2 chord is that the ‘3rd’ is suspended.
This means that it is replaced by the 2nd.
The scale of D major: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D
The scale of D minor: D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D
As you can see the ’sus 2 ‘ is created by replacing the ‘3rd‘ with the ‘2nd‘
Chord Spelling: A C E
Powerchords (5th Chords) – How to figure them out
Powerchords or 5th chords are chords that consist of the root note and the fifth.
Typically with distortion added they are a staple of rock and punk.
They can be ‘palm muted’, played solely with down strokes or thrashed.
The difference between a Power chord and other chords is the missing 3rd hence the name 5th chords.
The 3rd is the major or minor 3rd that gives the chord it’s distinctive flavour, without this the 5th chord is more about it’s ‘power’ and bass elements.
It’s also a lot of fun to play as it’s mobility as a chord gives the beginner something to get his or her teeth into.
There are two typical powerchords that you will see at the beginning, these being:
In the above pictures there are two chord boxes representing the ‘Power chord’ shapes.
Above each of these pictures is an image of the guitar neck with a string highlighted in red.
In both chords the Red circle indicates both the 1st finger and the ‘Root’ note of the chord.
The ‘Root’ note of the chord is achieved by placing the 1st finger on the relative string and then following the shape placing your fingers in the shape required.
The Green circle indicates the 3rd finger the Blue indicates the 4th (little) finger.
The Blue circle is the ‘octave’ in the chord and is not essential. In some cases it’s not needed and some guitarists simply play the chord without it.
The Green circle is the 5th Note that is referred to previously.
When playing these chords you only strum the strings you are holding down.
If you play everything you will not get the sound you are trying to achieve
So how do we put this together?
Let’s look at out first powerchord shape and it’s related ‘root’ string.
If you play the above shape at the 1st fret you will be playing F5 (F powerchord).
Taking that further:
Play the above shape on the,
3rd fret = G5
5th fret = A5
7th fret = B5
8th fret = C5
10th fret = D5
Using the 2nd powechord shape,
Play the above shape,
2nd fret = B5
3rd fret = C5
5th fret = D5
7th fret = E5
8th fret = F5
10th fret = G5
:::Additinal Info:::
There are two other shapes that must be seen.
These are the alternative ways of playing the A5 and E5 and are very common in rock music.
E5 powerchord:
Red Circle indicates 1st finger Blue Circle indicates 2nd finger.
The Blue is not neccessary but in some instances will be used.
The ‘x’ indicates strings that are not to be played.
The root note of this chord is the open string which in this case is the bottom ‘E’ string.
A5 powerchord:
Red Circle indicates 1st finger Blue Circle indicates 2nd finger.
The Blue is not neccessary but in some instances will be used.
The ‘x’ indicates strings that are not to be played.
The ‘x’ now shows that you should not play the bottom ‘E’
The root note of this chord is the open string which in this case is the ‘A’ string.
:::Imporant Info:::
You will need a good working knowledge of you strings to be able to better understand how these and other movable chords work.
:::Related Articles:::
Tags: 5th chords, chords, fifth chords, guitar, major, minor, powerchords, rock, root | 
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Understanding Barre Chords(part 3)
Please read previous articles before reading on.
Understanding Barre Chords(part 1)
Understanding Barre Chords(part 2)
Hopefully you now have an uderstanding of the 4 primary barre chord shapes and how they relate to the string from which they get their ‘root’ note.
Now if you’ve been messing around applying the info from these articles you may have noticed or been confused by something.
Let me give an example.
You’re looking for C# minor
As in the 2nd article you would play this chord,
You would play the following minor chord shape at the 4th fret,
To get the ‘C#’ we need to find the note on the ‘A’ string,
But there is a second way of playing this chord using the following shape from our first article,
Minor barre chord shape
Remembering that the above string is tied to the ‘E’ string, we need to find the ‘C#’ on the ‘E’ string.
Find the ‘C’ – it’s on the 8th fret – sharpen the note to raise it(move) up 1 fret to the 9th Fret.
So by playing the following shape on the 9th fret you will have another way of playing a C# minor chord,
The same principle can be applied to the B flat major chord,
First let’s find the note,
So from the pictures above we have found our ‘Bb’ but this is on the ‘E’ string.
What about the ‘A’ string ?
Let’s have a look.
So we have two positions for our root note.
If we play the following barre chord shape at the 6th fret as indicated in the picture we’ll be playing Bb major
If we play the following barre chord shape below at the 1st fret as indicated in the picture below we’ll again be playing Bb major.
It’s confusing but worth the hassle.
If you’re still unsure try testing yourself and seeing if you’re correct by using untidy music’s free online barre chord dictionary here.
How do you know which version to use though?
Well it’s down to what your playing.
Sound plays a big part but economy of movement plays a part as well.
Experimenting with it is in my mind the best way of getting to grips with these questions.
Use your ear first then apply common sense.
Have fun.
Understanding Barre Chords(part 2)
Before you carry on with this article please read, Understanding Barre Chords(part 1)
Following on from my previous article on Barre chords I’d like to show you how we can now bring in our second 2 chord shapes.
Major Barre Chord
Minor Chord Shape
Understanding that the previous articles barre chords were tied to the ‘Bottom E’ string, I’d like to show that the above chords are tied to the ‘A’ string.
The ‘A’ string has been highlighted in red on the guitar.
Learning the notes as in the previous article is integral to understanding properly how these barre chords work.
If we played the following chord shape on the 2nd fret we would be playing a B Major chord
If we played the Minor shape we would be playing the ‘B Minor’ chord
Minor Chord Shape,
If you wished to play a ‘C#minor‘
You would play the following minor chord shape at the 4th fret,
To get the ‘C#’ we need to find the note on the ‘A’ string,
Remember to ’sharpen’ a note you raise(move) the note 1 fret,
So ‘C #’ is on the 4th fret!
Hopefully the previous article should have gotten this idea across.
If you have understood both articles so far you may be scratching your head about something.
The following should help.
Understanding Barre Chords(part 3)