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17/03/2011 12:01 am
I just finished several of the beginner lessons from the site and I'm a little confused about something... If the chords of C and Am are made of C,E,and G and A,C,and E respectively why then do we mute out (or skip entirely) the low E string? Played both ways both chords obviously sound MUCH better excluding the low E but why is this? I'm hoping that the answer is not "because it sounds better" or "just because" :mrgreen:
All the world's a stage, but the play is poorly cast
17/03/2011 12:54 am
It's a little complicated.
When we play a chord, we can play it with the 'root' (the note that names the chord) in the bass... and that's called 'root position' in music theory. Or we could use any of the other chord tones as the bass - if it's the first note above the root in the chord formula (E for the C chord, C for the Am chord) it's called 'first inversion', and if we use the second note above the root (G for the C chord, E for the Am) it's called 'second inversion'.
If you were to rank the inversions of a major or minor chord for overall stability - the sense that you're "done" - root position wins. The next most stable is second inversion, and coming in third place would be first inversion. That's the reason most people play it... because it sounds better in most situations.
But not in all situations. You might want to have an alternating bass - playing x32010 on one beat, and 3x2010 on the next beat (if you play the bass note on the beat and then the chord, you get a cliche country-ish sound)
You might also want to have a more elaborate bass line, and then you could be playing first inversion as well.
Later on, you might be more worried about the highest note in a chord - for example, in chord melody pieces. Then you might end up with a different inversion because it makes the best fingering transition to your next chord.
So.... as you might (correctly) guess from all this, there's no one answer.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
19/03/2011 12:57 pm
I'm hoping that the answer is not "because it sounds better" :mrgreen:
Alas, you have hit on a perfectly good reason there. :)
On guitar, and especially electric guitar, it's common to strum chords without using all the possible available strings. Whanging away at the whole lot can give a rather muddy effect, especially when you include the lowest end of the bass range. It often works better to keep the lower notes for picking individual bass notes and the mid to high for strumming the chords.
Try fingering 0 3 2 0 1 0 but just playing the 2 0 1 0. You've still got a C chord with an E in the bass position - E G C E - but it sounds bright shiny and 'right'. Then try the whole catastrophe - E C E G C E. Still a C and still probably usable. Just not quite so crsip or as easy to fit comfortably into a range of contexts. Interestingly, 3 3 2 0 1 0 (G C E G C E) sounds a bit better and is quite often used :? That's how it seems to me anyway.
According to legend, Keith RIchards of the Stones had (or has) a Tele that he called 'Micawber' that he kept as a five string because he didn't use the low E and it just got in the way to have it there at all. :wink:
[url= 
]Click here to see pic of Keef's Micawber
Chris
25/03/2011 7:04 pm
Keith mostly (almost always) plays a 5 string Tele tuned to open G (no 6th string).
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Helgi Briem
hbriem AT gmail DOT com