Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

just thought of a cool example of a rocky jazz chord
one of hendrixes faves. one of mine too!
in tab
e- 0
b- 8
g- 7
d- 6
a- 7
E- 0

i just lurv that sound!
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

y2stevo said:
haha, love the sig!! :laugh2:

Intervals are the same as the meaning of the word,there the actual difference between notes on the fretboard or piano..e.g like Xero said the intervals of the major scale would be... w-w-h-w-w-w-h ... so say were in the Key of C.the notes in the scale of Cmajor would be C D E F G A B.So..the difference between C to D is a Whole Tone/whole step (same thing) as if it were a Half Tone then the notes would actually be C to C#,as C to C# is only a half tone.thats basically the deal with Intervals, so then D to E is A Whole Tone, E to F is A Half Tone (since theres no such thing as E# or Fb) etc etc. so on and so forth..

Hope that helps!

Ok... now... and how do I construct a chord on that now? (Man this is complicated... now I know why I usually use single notes most :smack: )
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

shred me good has given the only correct answer :D
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Im not sure but I do know that d5 is the most aggressive power chord.
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

here's a slightly odder sounding chord...

-0-
-3-
-3-
-0-
-x-
-3-

drop a capo on the guitar and it begins to sound cooler
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

you can always add a ninth to a stock power chord...for example E5 would be E-B...then you add the ninth (F#) and it becomes E-B-F#, whats cool about this is that the ninth doesnt make it minor or major, because there is no third, so you can play this over a major, or a minor chord and it will sound cool!
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

What is a ninth? WTF? Could you guys explain me the whole stuff again please? :smack:

Thanks
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Kommerzbassist said:
What is a ninth? WTF? Could you guys explain me the whole stuff again please? :smack:

Thanks

Count nine notes from the root, and you have your ninth. Go back and read the whole thread over again, and see if it starts to make sense over time.
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah damnit now I understand... lol
Ok but if chords are created on fix scales like root + fifth... why is it that most chords don't have the same shape... Major for example... every chord looks different... ?

thanks
 
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Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Kommerzbassist said:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah damnit now I understand... lol
Ok but if chords are created on fix scales like root + fifth... why is it that most chords don't have the same shape... Major for example... every chord looks different... ?

thanks

The beauty of the guitar is that most chords DO have the same shape. Unlike piano, where the same chord played in different keys is a different shape. On guitar a G major and E major are the same, unlike piano.

so I really don't know what you're talking about. Unless you're talking about different voicings. Don't get locked into this "shapes" thing, it's going to severely limit your playing.
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Xeromus said:
The beauty of the guitar is that most chords DO have the same shape. Unlike piano, where the same chord played in different keys is a different shape. On guitar a G major and E major are the same, unlike piano.

so I really don't know what you're talking about. Unless you're talking about different voicings. Don't get locked into this "shapes" thing, it's going to severely limit your playing.

I think he's talking about open chords.
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Kommerzbassist said:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah damnit now I understand... lol
Ok but if chords are created on fix scales like root + fifth... why is it that most chords don't have the same shape... Major for example... every chord looks different... ?

thanks
Your thinking of Open chords like Big Blackie there said.Those familiar famous open chords are just common voicings of major chords and the most convienient to play around that part of the neck.but say you take the C shape chord.
C
----
-1--
-0--
-2--
-3--
----

play it, then say you want to play a D major Chord. You could play your commonly know D shape chord , Or you can move the C Shape up 2 Frets, so as the root of the C shape chord is now on D.
So

D
----
-3--
-2--
-4--
-5--
----

But these shapes usually require bigish streches lower on the neck so people usually just opt for the Barre Chord instead.
So to play the C, One might play
C
-8---
-8---
-9---
-10--
-10--
-8---

Then to move up to the D they would simply shift that same,and much easier to fret shape by 2 frets

D

-10--
-10--
-11--
-12--
-12--
-10--
Hope that clears up those shapes a little :laugh2:
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Xeromus said:
I don't mean it to sound condescending.

Say someone knows the intervals of a major scale, w-w-h-w-w-w-h. w=whole step h= half step. Given they have basic knowledge of the notes on the fretboard they can then play a major scale anywhere on the neck starting from any note. If I tell them that each mode starts on a different scale degree of the major scale they can then play any mode starting on any note on the fretboard. Phrygian for example starts on the 3rd scale degree of major. h-w-w-w-h-w-w. Those are the intervals.

For chords: They can be looked at as scale degrees stacked upon one another. Your normal power chords are simply root and fifth, or root, root doubled, and fifth. Say if a student understands how to create a diminished chord. Two minor thirds stacked upon one another. A minor third is a major third reduced by a half step. With some thinking they can contruct that chord on the fretboard on their own.

This is how you come up with cool voices and such that you would never otherwise understand how to construct.

Man, that makes guitar make so much more sense to me... I completely agree that just learning shapes isn't the way to go about it, very limiting, cheers for that one!
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Kyuss_Rock said:
Man, that makes guitar make so much more sense to me... I completely agree that just learning shapes isn't the way to go about it, very limiting, cheers for that one!

the big challenge is actually applying all this theory to the fretboard. That's the hard part and I still have a lot of trouble with it even.
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

To me your basic power chord is Root, 5th and root the next octave, i.e., 1-5-8.

But I tend to prefer Alex Lifeson's various takes on the power chord, huge and lush with the sus-2's and all that. The example below is a C with a sus-2 (intervals low to high 5-1-5-1-2-5)

---3rd fret------- index
---3rd----------- index
--------5th------ pinky
--------5th------ ring
---3rd----------- index
---3rd----------- index
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Slightly on topic: if you want to write your very own U2 song, do this:

1. Set your amp to clean and turn on your delay pedal
2. Play a major chord a few times
3. Switch to a sus4 by adding the 4th to your major
4. Go back to step 2 and repeat until you get bored

Voila: instant U2 song. :D

Seriously though, suspended fourth chords are cool as hell, and easy as your mom. All you have to do is take your standard issue major chord, like this E major:

E 0
A 2
D 2
G 1
B 0
E 0

... and move that third (the Ab on the G string) up half a step to a fourth:

E 0
A 2
D 2
G 2
B 0
E 0

And remember kids: the more theory you learn, the better your playing will be. Good guitar playing is 95% mental.
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

y2stevo said:
Your thinking of Open chords like Big Blackie there said.Those familiar famous open chords are just common voicings of major chords and the most convienient to play around that part of the neck.but say you take the C shape chord.
C
----
-1--
-0--
-2--
-3--
----

play it, then say you want to play a D major Chord. You could play your commonly know D shape chord , Or you can move the C Shape up 2 Frets, so as the root of the C shape chord is now on D.
So

D
----
-3--
-2--
-4--
-5--
----

But these shapes usually require bigish streches lower on the neck so people usually just opt for the Barre Chord instead.
So to play the C, One might play
C
-8---
-8---
-9---
-10--
-10--
-8---

Then to move up to the D they would simply shift that same,and much easier to fret shape by 2 frets

D

-10--
-10--
-11--
-12--
-12--
-10--
Hope that clears up those shapes a little :laugh2:
yes it does.. thanks


Wow, you people are beeing a great helpfo runderstanding all that stuff... thanks alot everyone
 
Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Not to dispute with all the previous posts. The chord we mostly used is actually the major chord. All the other chords are just variations, including the power chord. I would start with the open E major chord shape and learn how to embellish it in the 3rd position, which is the G major. I can get the minor, sus 2, sus 4, 6th, domaint 7 and 9th out of it. Then I would try the open C major chord in the 2nd position, which is the D major. From that I can get the sus 2, sus 4, 6th, domaint 7, major 7, 9th and 11th. After that, I would concentrate on the open A major chord form (this is the position we play the pentatonic scale) and start on playing triads for accompanyment before I start worrying about modes, improvisations and ad libs.
 
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Re: Which is the most often used/suitable type of (non-power) chord for rock?

Coming at the guitar after a couple of other intruments -- neither of them primarily concerned with chordal playing -- I had a strange time adapting my knowledge of intervals and scales to playing chords. It wasn't until I bought a cheap chord book that had the basic, everyday voicings that I was able to make much headway. Sure, since I knew what notes made up a G chord, I could play one, but the way in which I built it was nowhere near as comfortable, convenient (in relation to moving quickly to other chords) or as full sounding as the traditional open voiced G. I think that learning basic shapes can, in that case, be very helpful.
 
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