Moving Static Chord Shapes Around... Options

[Storm Linnebjerg]

...for new chords and chord voicings. I don't know the actual term for this, to be honest. Open chords that is.

This came about from a thread on Sevenstring.org, where a person asked what other people's favorite chords are at the moment. This is more or less my response:

I thought I'd chime in with a shape that I quite like, rather than one single chord. The shape can easily be moved around, up and down the fretboard, but gives a few different flavors and chord and chord voicings. It goes through sus2, maj7, maj7(b5) and maj9.

Notice how the fingering stays exactly the same throughout:

• Bsus2/D:
• X 5 4 6 0 2
• Emaj7:
• X 7 6 8 0 4
• Fmaj7(b5):
• X 8 7 9 0 5
• Gmaj7:
• X 10 9 11 0 7
• Amaj9:
• X 12 11 13 0 9
• Bmaj7:
• X 14 13 15 0 11
• Cmaj7:
• X 15 14 16 0 12
• Bsus2/D:
• X 17 16 18 0 14

And then you are back at the "beginning" in the octave above the first chord. If you want to spice up the end of the sequence, you can alter the shape a bit to X 16 15 18 0 14 giving you a C#7add11 kinda thing..

I made a little thing using some of the chords (Bsus2, Gmaj7, Amaj9, Bmaj7, C#7add11, C#7add13):

Do you know any similar chord "tricks"?

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This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Apr 6 2021, 02:02 PM

[Gabriel Leopardi]

Love it! I'm already experimenting with this chord. Thanks for sharing!!

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Love it! I'm already experimenting with this chord. Thanks for sharing!!

I really like open chords like that and moving them around

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

As you already know, I also love it!!! In the last hours I listened this many times. It gives me a very, veeery good mood.
BTW Ben thanks soooo much because you told me about the Develop Device studio. I'm definitely a fan of this drums sound.

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Very cool. Sometimes all that's needed is one common denominator between the chords - for it to sound like a coherent (and futuristic!) chord progression.

In this case, it might be the open B string that does it.

Thanks for providing the chords on-screen, it allowed me to record a quick jam over this one - extremely cool backing! 👌

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

As you already know, I also love it!!! In the last hours I listened this many times. It gives me a very, veeery good mood.
BTW Ben thanks soooo much because you told me about the Develop Device studio. I'm definitely a fan of this drums sound.

Develop Device has some cool presets and templates, that's for sure. You have to have the product they are designed for of course, so some of them needs a specific expansion for Superior Drummer. Thanks for listening so many times, Monica!

Very cool. Sometimes all that's needed is one common denominator between the chords - for it to sound like a coherent (and futuristic!) chord progression.

In this case, it might be the open B string that does it.

Thanks for providing the chords on-screen, it allowed me to record a quick jam over this one - extremely cool backing! 👌

Yes, I agree that it's the B note/open B string that does it. Funnily enough back when I started out playing in 2002 and when I started writing my own chord progressions, I didn't know about theory, and I thought that to move between chords you had to have at least one common note. So for instance Dm (D F A) could go to any chord with one of those notes in it (F major or even F minor) and then you could move to whatever chord you could find after that which would match the previous one (maybe from F minor to Ab major and so on). It actually gave some interesting results!

Thanks SO much for jamming over the track. It was a pleasure to listen to, and your playing sounds very emotional here, and I like it a lot!

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This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Apr 6 2021, 06:11 PM

[Kristofer Dahl]

Yes, I agree that it's the B note/open B string that does it. Funnily enough back when I started out playing in 2002 and when I started writing my own chord progressions, I didn't know about theory, and I thought that to move between chords you had to have at least one common note. So for instance Dm (D F A) could go to any chord with one of those notes in it and then you could move to whatever chord you could find after that which would match the previous one. It actually gave some interesting results!

That is a good tool to build chord progressions, another classic one is to have chromatic movement (in the bass line or anywhere else).

Once you have done that, you might want to go for a slightly more melodic movement (than chromatic) - and oopsie all of a sudden you are out chasing chord progressions based on what your ears are telling you 👌 These sure are some good starting points!

Thanks SO much for jamming over the track. It was a pleasure to listen to, and your playing sounds very emotional here, and I like it a lot!

Thanks - this type of track inevitably takes me towards Holdsworth land!

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

That is a good tool to build chord progressions, another classic one is to have chromatic movement (in the bass line or anywhere else).

Once you have done that, you might want to go for a slightly more melodic movement (than chromatic) - and oopsie all of a sudden you are out chasing chord progressions based on what your ears are telling you 👌 These sure are some good starting points!

Thanks - this type of track inevitably takes me towards Holdsworth land!

I sometimes feel I get too caught up in diatonic movement through chords, or trying to create something from theory knowledge rather than follow my ear and just "playing what sounds cool". It might be moving from a Dm to an Fm to a Bbm with a similar approach to what I first thought was the "right way" to do it. Sometimes it's nice to step away from theory, write something and THEN figure out what's going on, rather than start out with being boxed in It's a balance of course, as with all things.

Holdsworth land is not a bad place to be taken to, and your playing only becomes better and better each time I hear you!

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This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Apr 6 2021, 06:53 PM

[Kristofer Dahl]

I sometimes feel I get too caught up in diatonic movement through chords, or trying to create something from theory knowledge rather than follow my ear and just "playing what sounds cool". It might be moving from a Dm to an Fm to a Bbm with a similar approach to what I first thought was the "right way" to do it. Sometimes it's nice to step away from theory, write something and THEN figure out what's going on, rather than start out with being boxed in

YES! This is a great strategy. Basically anything that forces you to do something different is good. Get out of your routine 👌

Holdsworth land is not a bad place to be taken to, and your playing only becomes better and better each time I hear you!

Thanks, my jam chops are a bit rusty currently but there was just no way I could stop myself from trying out your track 😎

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[klasaine]

I sometimes feel I get too caught up in diatonic movement through chords, or trying to create something from theory knowledge rather than follow my ear and just "playing what sounds cool". It might be moving from a Dm to an Fm to a Bbm with a similar approach to what I first thought was the "right way" to do it. Sometimes it's nice to step away from theory, write something and THEN figure out what's going on, rather than start out with being boxed in It's a balance of course, as with all things.

Holdsworth land is not a bad place to be taken to, and your playing only becomes better and better each time I hear you!

At this point in music 'theory' history, there's no chord progression that can't be, at least in some context, analyzed theoretically.
Move chords around however you want. Figure it out later. If it sounds good, it is good.

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[Todd Simpson]

Very cool chord progression by ben, killer jam by kris and sage advice by Ken. "Scene".

At this point in music 'theory' history, there's no chord progression that can't be, at least in some context, analyzed theoretically.
Move chords around however you want. Figure it out later. If it sounds good, it is good.

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

At this point in music 'theory' history, there's no chord progression that can't be, at least in some context, analyzed theoretically.
Move chords around however you want. Figure it out later. If it sounds good, it is good.

Oh, I completely agree. It's more so the approach of how I go about coming up with things that I was questioning. I.e. theory first or the "just play what you think sounds cool" first.

Very cool chord progression by ben, killer jam by kris and sage advice by Ken. "Scene".

Thanks, Todd!

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[klasaine]

Oh, I completely agree. It's more so the approach of how I go about coming up with things that I was questioning. I.e. theory first or the "just play what you think sounds cool" first.

Guitar (like piano) is super visual. I would imagine that most guitarists started off by moving shapes around the fingerboard and then landing on stuff that sounds cool. I think most still do. I know I do

The great thing about knowing a bit of harmony and theory is that after you discover that 'cool' sounding progression, you can figure out what the hell it is and then be able to apply it and/or fit it in to other stuff you already know or may learn.
I have several little notebooks filled with ideas: licks, chord shapes, progressions, concepts, etc. I store them away and then come back to browse through them and see what I still like. Some of it I decide is trash, some of it is gold.

*That chord shape in your first post is a nice one, and I'll note that I've never played that exact voicing before.

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Guitar (like piano) is super visual. I would imagine that most guitarists started off by moving shapes around the fingerboard and then landing on stuff that sounds cool. I think most still do. I know I do

The great thing about knowing a bit of harmony and theory is that after you discover that 'cool' sounding progression, you can figure out what the hell it is and then be able to apply it and/or fit it in to other stuff you already know or may learn.
I have several little notebooks filled with ideas: licks, chord shapes, progressions, concepts, etc. I store them away and then come back to browse through them and see what I still like. Some of it I decide is trash, some of it is gold.

*That chord shape in your first post is a nice one, and I'll note that I've never played that exact voicing before.

Well, I have tended to think up what sounds "diatonically in key" rather than just explore or try some other chords. I.e. knowing that going from Dm to Bb to Gm to A (i VI iv V) sounds safe, and I'd just stick with that or generally stick with a safe choice in whatever I wrote. That's what I meant by boxing myself in from the get go when writing songs. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it can yield some cool results to take a different approach, I reckon.

But yes, I agree, you then learn what that progression or idea is based on and you can apply it to another thing, I guess that's either boxing yourself in again or expanding the box you were in - which of course is a good thing. I'm not advocating against theory knowledge at all I need to write more ideas down. Thanks for reminding me!

Yeah, it's a cool voicing and as said moving it up and down yields some interesting ones too. I only noted those I thought sounded cool, but there are of course some more dissonant ones that players like you (i.e. with good chord and jazz knowledge) could get something out of Personally I like the Fmaj7(b5) voicing a lot.

--------------------------------------------

Not related to quoting you or the reply above, but some more cool shapes to move around are of course that "open barre" major chord (1st example) with open B and E strings, the minAdd9-shape with open E (example 2) or the maj7-shape with open B and E (example 3).

Then of course moving some of the standard open chord shapes up can yield some cool results:

Try a G shape (320033) at 1st fret, muting the A string, for a Gsus4/F, or including the note on the A string at 5th fret for a A7add11, an A#6 at the 6th fret. Cadd9 on the 8th fret, Dadd11 on the 10th fret.

Try a C shape (X32010) on the 5th fret for a Em9/D, 8th fret for Fmaj9 etc.

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This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Apr 7 2021, 06:47 AM

[MonkeyDAthos]

Yeah, it's a cool voicing and as said moving it up and down yields some interesting ones too. I only noted those I thought sounded cool, but there are of course some more dissonant ones that players like you (i.e. with good chord and jazz knowledge) could get something out of Personally I like the Fmaj7(b5) voicing a lot.

Ofc them lydian vibes! I all down for the supremecy of #11 Major chords regardless of function. For those sweet cheesy bittersweet memories

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Ofc them lydian vibes! I all down for the supremecy of #11 Major chords regardless of function. For those sweet cheesy bittersweet memories

Yes, it's a very nice vibe!

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[Kristofer Dahl]

Well, I have tended to think up what sounds "diatonically in key" rather than just explore or try some other chords. I.e. knowing that going from Dm to Bb to Gm to A (i VI iv V) sounds safe, and I'd just stick with that or generally stick with a safe choice in whatever I wrote. That's what I meant by boxing myself in from the get go when writing songs. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it can yield some cool results to take a different approach, I reckon.

But yes, I agree, you then learn what that progression or idea is based on and you can apply it to another thing, I guess that's either boxing yourself in again or expanding the box you were in - which of course is a good thing. I'm not advocating against theory knowledge at all I need to write more ideas down. Thanks for reminding me!

Yeah, it's a cool voicing and as said moving it up and down yields some interesting ones too. I only noted those I thought sounded cool, but there are of course some more dissonant ones that players like you (i.e. with good chord and jazz knowledge) could get something out of Personally I like the Fmaj7(b5) voicing a lot.

--------------------------------------------

Not related to quoting you or the reply above, but some more cool shapes to move around are of course that "open barre" major chord (1st example) with open B and E strings, the minAdd9-shape with open E (example 2) or the maj7-shape with open B and E (example 3).

Then of course moving some of the standard open chord shapes up can yield some cool results:

Try a G shape (320033) at 1st fret, muting the A string, for a Gsus4/F, or including the note on the A string at 5th fret for a A7add11, an A#6 at the 6th fret. Cadd9 on the 8th fret, Dadd11 on the 10th fret.

Try a C shape (X32010) on the 5th fret for a Em9/D, 8th fret for Fmaj9 etc.

These are really nice 'open' chords as well, especially the open barre chord should be easy for people to try out!

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[Todd Simpson]

Any chance you could make a Guitar Pro file for this? Seeing it in full motion would be very cool imho. Very creative chordal structure.

Try a C shape (X32010) on the 5th fret for a Em9/D, 8th fret for Fmaj9 etc.

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

Any chance you could make a Guitar Pro file for this? Seeing it in full motion would be very cool imho. Very creative chordal structure.

This is a file with some chords to move around first. Just some more standard chords moved around, and then I've included the chords from the initial post too:

 Open_Chords.gp ( 15.35K ) Number of downloads: 244

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[Todd Simpson]

Very super thanks!!! These sound really cool. I do hope we end up making collab out of something like this as mentioned earlier in the post. Very cool stuff!

This is a file with some chords to move around first. Just some more standard chords moved around, and then I've included the chords from the initial post too:

 Open_Chords.gp ( 15.35K ) Number of downloads: 244

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