Please recommend some good chords to me.

[kelvin]

I want to make a slow and sad song.

And i want it to have some "jazzy feel".

Please tell me some chords that I can use in the key of C Major.

I already know some jazzy chords like "A7 raised 5", "D7 flat 5"
and a couple more.
any more that sound good?

thanks!

[nuntius]

Re: Please recommend some good chords to me.

This site is pretty good http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/

The 'easy' room has drop down menus for lots of chords

[GuitarStv]

Re: Please recommend some good chords to me.

Throw in some cool bass notes and open strings to chords that you like and you can get pretty jazzy pretty quick . . . here are some cool sounding chords for you that I like (I'm not too sure about the namings . . . this is what I think that they're called . ..)

E A D G B e
---------------
2 X 0 2 1 2 D7/F#
7 X 9 9 7 0 Bsus2
0 7 6 8 7 0 Eadd9
0 7 6 9 7 0 Esus2
8 0 10 9 8 8 C6

You can also try playing around with open chord shapes on different spots on the neck which can make some cool sounding chords (sorry, too lazy to figure out what they all are) . . .

3 X 0 0 3 3 G5
5 X 0 0 5 5
7 X 0 0 7 7

X X 3 2 1 0 Fmaj7
X X 7 6 5 0
X X 9 8 7 0


If you want to make a jazzy sound, try using lots of 7ths, 9ths, and dom 7ths. Also get very used to the ii-V-I chord progression . . . it's about as familiar to jazzers as the I-IV-V is to blues players . . .

[kelvin]

Re: Please recommend some good chords to me.

hey.
thanks for the link.
but that didn't help me a lot.

i need to know what chords that is jazzy to be used in the key of C.
:s

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Please recommend some good chords to me.

Try some of the following progressions:
C7 Ab7 G7 C7 ("Gee baby ain't I good to you" style).

Fmaj7 works great... using Dm will give you a Jazzy feel when soloing on the C major scale.

You can always use a classic two-five: Dm G7 C C... add any grace notes that you want.

One more cool thing is staying on a chord and chromaticaly movnig note in it:
Dm DmMaj7 Dm7 Dm6... I use it when playing Summertime.. cool effect.

Another cool thing you can do is to add something our of the scale: EbMaj7 or Eb6... when you use the scale of C it's usually a major scale... if you use a C7 with an Eb you make the C7 more bluesy (but using the C major scale on it is not the best idea, sounds awesome with a Cm pentatonic scale).

I'm giving myself a headache.

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Please recommend some good chords to me.

Try a minor key if you want it sad.

[Osensei]

Re: Please recommend some good chords to me.

First let me offer some clips and then I'll explain at the end of my post:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg3eo8x_9rw&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wfhIgLNMts&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti28EUFWmGQ&mode=related&search=

Repeat phrasing is a big key to emotion in music. It dooms the listener to follow wherever it is you're taking them. The brain finds repetitious patterns to be irresistable. Now listen to the ultimate in agony! Hear how the repetition in the melodic phrasing tugs at the heartstrings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM9DeUU8dVo&mode=related&search=

Chord Schmord! Key Schmee! Here comes a rant and rave session! Please understand that this does not necessarily apply to you! So don't get offended. OK? Promise!

For (rant = 0; Still_amazed_at_question; rant++)
{
Some people need to learn how to put a melodies together and follow a chord progressions that have more than two chords in them. You have to learn to play and listen to stuff you don't like. That's were you really get the tools that you need to express yourself. It's doesn't come from chords or scales or key signatures man! It comes from your exposure and knowledge of many different styles.

For instance, do you listen to Latin music? If not then why the hell not!? Is it because in your opion, "If it does'nt sound like Stevie Ray Vaugh, then to hell with it!"? Latin music possesses some of the saddest, heart rending music on the planet! That's because nobody can break your heart like a raven haired Latin chick with an ample rack and an apple bottom!
};

Ok! Rant disengaged!

That being said, I love Latin themes in music! My favorites come from Brasil. Find some Brazillian music to listen to and you'll be balling you eyes out of their sockets in no time. You probably won't understand the lyrics but believe me - you won't even care!

I mention Latin music first because that's were I first learned the secret to emotional playing! The secret is in sequence! I'll come back to that in a sec but first let me say that other world music are just as inspirational.

Sequences are real tear jerkers. You play a phrase an then you apply various type of repetitive treatments to that phrase. That includes the following techniques:

1. Play a phrase and simply repeat it.
2. Play a phrase and transpose it to the next chord
3. Break a phrase into fragments and repeat different fragments of the phrase at different times.
4. Play a phrase and then Invert the phrase which means to play it upside down or play it backwards.
5. Ignore the pitch and just repeat rythmic ideas.

These are all ways to use repeat phrasing. Now relisten to the melodies in the clips that I have provided above. Try to identifiy were the phrases within the melodic line or even in solos repeat. Remember that sometimes repetition is subtle! Some repeat phrases are easy to find while others are disquised. Certainly, repeat phrasing is not the only thing you have to learn, but it is a point of departure! Good Luck!