UL role eraonto) There are five open major chords—E, A, D, G, and C. ‘The chord diagrams below show these shapes graphically. ‘In chord diagrams, the vertical lines represent the strings, ‘while the horizontal lines represent the frets. The dots indi- ‘cate where to place your fingers, and the numbers above ‘each string tell you which finger to use on each string. An “o" means to play that string open. An “x" means to not play that string at all higase oa 2 COUNTING TIME AND CHORD PROGRESSION E-D-A-E On the video, time values are learned by simply listening to each example. Here they are writen out. The beat, or count, appears undemeath example 1 ‘The progression E-D-A-E, in a number of variations, can be found at work within many songs by bands including Van Halen, Guns 'N' Roses, Aerosmith, AC/DC, John Mellencamp, Live and Collective Soul, just to name a few. In other words, i's a very common rock progression. Es mt D 4 E 1 Whe 1234 1234 1234 1236 3 CHORD PROGRESSION G-D-C-D AND STRUMMING ‘The next examples incorporate a strumming approach, applied to chord progressions containing only the five open chords that you have learned so far. Notice how the down- strokes and upstrokes of the pick alternate on the eighth notes. n= downstroke of the pick v= upstroke of the pick ‘This strumming approach is quite common, and can be heard at work in songs across the rock spectrum from the Beatles and Rolling Stones to Pearl Jam, Soul Asylum, Melisa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow, for example.ez sha | A syncopation occurs when a note that falls on an upbeat Isheld over the folowing downbeat. Syncopetion can be found atthe heart of just about every rock rhythm and if. ‘No, notice how open strings are used as a transition between chords, below. 124 D4 4s 1 2H DEES 5 Two-Bar PHRASE Each of the previous examples hes been a four measure, ‘four-bar phrase. This time, it's a shorter two-bar phrase, teminiscent of John Mellencamp's “R.0.C.K. in the U.S.A.” Of course, it goes by twice as fast since itis half as long. ‘Notice how this seems to convey more energy than the longer, previous phrases. ft CMe alinrorzSuncensi>s) The open E, A, and D chords have convenient minor shapes as well, Notice how Em, Am and Om, give a differ- ‘ent “color” than their major counterparts, 7 Root/CHORD STRUMMING Example 5 utilizes root/chord strumming in a Neit Young- type Em-C-D progression. c 2 | Fy tte | + a f "8 ArRPEGGIATED CHORD Example 6 employs clean guitar sound with arpeggiated ‘picking, as in songs such as the Animals’ version of ‘House ‘of the Rising Sun,” the Rolling Stone's acoustic ballad, “Angie,” the Scorpion’s “No One Like You,” or the Eagles’ “Hotel California.” Also, the partial chord shapes used in ‘the fourth measure harken back to Led Zepplin's “Stairway ‘to Heaven.” AN 5 vy Atay 4 - Tare are vtualy an untintd nunber of apegsaton pat Next example uses the same progression as. shove batts trot is played with a folk-rock inspired, finger picking approach a la the Kansas classic tune, “Dust inthe Wind” 9 Power CHorp: ———_—_—_—_—_—— Power chords are commonly used in hard rock and metal. ‘Two-string versions of ES, A5, and D5 power chords are shown below. ES ps ‘The hard rock-style example below uses all three of these power chords. Notice in the video exactly how the open strings are stopped and not allowed to ring from one chord into the next. ee Ds AS Ds AS 3EXPANDED Power CHORD: Power chords may be played in their expanded, three- ‘string versions as well. Lay your first finger flat to cover two ‘stings. i ‘The open GS power chord requires muting the ith string in between two others which are played. Allow the side of your second finger to touch and mute the fit string, so when you strike fit cannot ring. asda Example 9 uses a Kiss-style rifiprogression. Make sure to ‘stop all the strings on each rest. Bo As DS as Ds_ as S [NK Fi Bt Py peeps fe 6s os AS ly 3 ime “ ‘The next example begins with a repeating one-bar, hard rock rif reminiscent of AC/DC. Notice the distinctly sepa- rate progression section—in the second four bars—sand- \wiched between the repeating riff on E. 10 1 bar rift - BS va poe qs ‘The form, or musical structure, shown above would be called “ABA.” That is, one thing (A) is followed by some- thing else (B), then the original idea is repeated (A). Al though the concept of form is generally a more advanced idea, itis good to become exposed to the idea of seeing larger structures within music, right from the start. 15eo ore ee) AND VOICINGS Here weit look at how chords are built, An E mixolydian scale is shown below, with each step labelled, The mixoly- ddan mode (or scale) is & major seale witha flatted, or minor, seventh step. eet EMixolydian ‘Take notice of the particular voicings, or structures of the chord tones, below. Again, the numbers in the diagrams here represent each note's relationship to the root of that chord. ee, ee) - ome na oF See iE = a : dah E @ B : a : i i ‘ ‘Major chords consist of a root, major third and fifth, or 1, 3, 5. Minor chords consist of a root, minor third and fith, oF 1, 43,5. ‘These numberings are called chord formulas. So all of the notes in every major chord shape are either roots, major thirds, or fiths. All of the notes in every minor chord shape are either roots, minor thirds, or fiths. ‘The exact structure ofthe notes in a chord is known as the voicing ofthat chord. There are several different ways, for ‘example, to play an E chord. The tll, open chord shape is ‘one way. Another voicing of an E major chord might be to play only the top four stings. ‘As long as the shape con- tains a root, major third and fit, it's a complete major chord. 16 ra) ae c tig gs oo wom Sh ae se 712 BLuEs aND Rock baex cuit tooo ld Just as chords are buit upon their root note, progressions ‘of chords are also based upon—or built around—a tonal ‘center, which they tend to gravitate toward. We use ‘Roman numerals to reflect the relationships between one chord and another. The tonal center, or home base, has priority status and is given the numeral “.” We call it the / ‘chord (pronounced “one chord"). ‘The blues progression wo will look at first is called the 12 bar blues because itis twelve measures long. We will play itin the key of A—meaning that Ais the tonal center—so {ets first look at the A mixolydian scale below. Then we'll ‘build full chords on the first, fourth, and fith steps of the scale. an A Mixolydian ‘The chord buit upon A, the tonal center, is the I chord (Cone chore, ‘The chord built upon the fourth step, D, is the /V chord (four chord’). ‘The chord buit upon the fith step, E, is the V chord (‘ive ‘chord’. 8 A. comping figure is a short pattern, or motif, applied to the ‘chords of a progression. The comping figure we will use for ‘our 12-bar blues progression is shown below, applied to an A.chord. Itis referred to as “6th comping,” or “comping with ‘ths" because it adds a 6th tone, relative to the root of the chord. Palm muting gives the notes a muttied tone. This is ‘accomplished by touching the ends of the strings lightly ‘with the palm of your hand as you pick. (See the video for more detail) 6th comping on A: AS AG AS AG AS ‘A tumnaroundis the term given to the short phrase, or lick, which is played in the last one or two measures of the 12- bar progression. This marks the end of the progression {and “tums it around” to repeat once again from the begin- ring, The turnaround lick we will use is shown below. It is based on an E chord. Notice the tones relative to E, which you leamed back in example 11. It also uses a hammer-on articulation. Sound a hammer-on without picking, by ham- rmering your finger down onto the string, (See the video for more detail.) ‘Tumaround lick on E: : = fi : = Bo 9Example 13 isa full 12-bar blues progression in A, with 6th ‘comping and a turnaround in the final bar. Songs which use the 12-bar blues pattern include Chuck Borrys “Johnnie B. Goode,” The Beatles’ “Roll Over Beethoven,” Led Zepplin’s “Rock and Roll" Jimi Hendrix’ "Eric Clapton's "Crossroads," Bruce Spring- steen's "Pink Cadilac," and Van Halen's popular remake of “lee Cream Man,” among others. Otten in rock, the 12-bar blues is not used in its entirety, but portions or aspects of it are borrowed. For example, below, 6th comping has been applied to the E-D-A-E rock progression we saw earier. Songs in which comping fig- Utes are applied to other progressions, inthis way, include such classic tunes as the Stone's “it's Only Rack and Roll (But! Like 1)” and the Beetles “Come Together.” Ent Example 15 also incorporates the tumaround idea in the last measure, as well as 6th comping. In addition, the frst chord of each measure is accented by playing it without he palm mute. Fes In example 16, the I-1o-V-to-| portion of the 12-bar blues phrase is isolated. It includes both 6th and 7th comping fig- tres, as well as typical rock syneopations within the rhythm, 16 A E a13 MoveasLe Power CHorDS Each of the power chord shapes you have learned may be shifted up the neck to play many different chords. Below are the diagrams for FB, GS and AS. Notice how the same relative shape is maintained in each. FS FS a Gs ‘Moving over to the next string, we can bulld more power chords, Below are B5, C5 and DS. BS. BS ps ps fet: sf Example 17 uses our first three moveable power chords in ‘a heavy rock progression, similar to the ending portion of Led Zeppiin's landmark “Stairway to Heaven,” or the cho- ruses of Triumphs “Lay It on the Line" and the Scorpion's, ‘lassi, ‘No One Like You.” BLT 45 14 MINOR PROGRESSION °VI--VIL AND PeDaL TONE ‘The progression operating within example 17, on the pre- vious page, comes from the natural minor scale in A. Soit isa minor progression, unlike the previous blues and rock progressions we played earlier, which—for the most part— had the brighter feel of a major key. Below, the A natural minor scale is shown. Notice that the chords Am, F and G correspond to the first, sixth and sev- centh steps of the Am scale. 18 ‘A natural minor So the progression you played back in example 17 is a i- *VSVII minor progression in A. Example 19 uses the same iVI--VII minor progression but this time we have moved it into the key of Em. And we aro adding two more power chords into the progression, to act, 2s a sort of ending tag for the four-bar phrase. In addition, a pedal tone idea is applied, whereby open E string palm mutes are interspersed throughout the progres- sion. The paim-muted, open string pedal tone is a common ‘metal technique, which gives the progression a heavier feel. Songs which make use ofthis technique include Van Halen's “Unchained,” and Stone Temple Pilot's "Wicked Garden," just to name a few. cians © Ds5 FULL BarRE-CHORD SHAPES ‘The moveable power chords you've just learned may be ‘expanded into full major and minor barre chords. The dia- grams below show F, G and A, plus C, D, and E, in their full ‘major shapes. F F — ape Example 20 shows a simple two-bar phrase reminiscent of the famous hit song “Wild Thing,” first recorded by the 60's (group, The Troggs. Notice the full major barre chords at ‘work within the progression. x20 aa ao 6 | Here are the minor versions of each of these barre chords. ie ead 3Examples 21 and 22 are repeats of 17 and 19, but this Example 23 uses just the top three strings of each barre time they are played with full barre chords. chord shape, in a /sVIISV14VIl progression in Bm, & la Bob Dylan's “All Along the Watchtower,” recorded and popular~ ized by guitar great Jimi Hendrix. Em 6 D sonnei af ona pM — Pa, PM PM !ree UL) ‘As you saw back in Chord Formulas and Voicings, it takes: at least three diferent notes to spell out a complete major ‘of minor chord—a root, third, and fifth. But often, chords are played with only two notes, as you saw with our first ower chords, The technical term for a two-note chord, like this, isa dlad (or dyad). Here, wo will look at a few other ‘common diad shapes used in rock rhythm guitar. The A mixolydian scale appears below, beginning on the A. at the fitth fret, sixth string. Notice how the diad shapes ‘come from the intervals of the scale, ‘A Mixolyaian (played atthe Sth fret) Al three diad shapes above can be found within the three- string power chord shape. ‘th diad (AS) Sit 4th diad (AS) Octave diad (A) Ste ste Example 24 uses 4th diad power chords within a heavy rock progression in A. Notice the open A string, pedal tone. w FS GS (A) GS (A) GS AS cs Ds nany nnay 217 CHROMATIC MOVEME ample 25 uses 5th, diminished Sth, 4th, and major Srd diads over a fretted C pedal tone, Although it is played dif- ferently here, the progression sounds similar to the main tiff of Stone Temple Pilots’ “Plush,” with its chromatio—or ‘half step—movement. ‘Next, each of these diads has been inverted, by raising the lower note up an octave, effectively tuming each interval “upside down." Also, itis played with a staccato, finger- picking approach, & la Eddie Van Halen's verse treatments in "Best of Both Worlds" or George Lynch in Dokken's “t's Not Love.” | anTST v aa ee) [> olU Thal Maal ‘The shuffle rythm appears throughout the blues and blues rock repertoire, For example, it can be found in Stevie Ray Vaughan's “Pride and Joy" and “Cold Shot.” But this rhythm goes far beyond the boundaries of blues inspired rock. Other songs which incorporate a shufle feel include The Eagles’ Heartache Tonight,” Thin Lizzy's clas- sie tune “The Boys are Back in Town,” and Van Halen's “Beaulful Gris.” ‘The shuttlo has at its core a triplet. Specifically, the shuttle ‘emerges when the first two notes of each triplet are tied together, giving us a repeated quarter/eighth triplet figure. non Example 27 applies a typical shutfie fee! to a I-1V-I progres sion with 6th comping. Listen to this example on the video, and you'll hear the characteristic feel. ee27 ‘Medium Shuffle A A oon oma mon nn T3333 We'll end with a more advanced rhythm, just to give you a litle challenge here and a taste of what lies ahead. After all, you don't want it too easy, do you?! Anyway, this may well take a itle longer to get down, so be patient with it. ‘Double time means thatthe notes are twice as fast in rel tion to the underlying beat, or pulse, Or, stated ints more practical perspective, the beat is cut fo haf speed, while the notes remain unchanged. Songs which make use of the double time shuffle groove cover a diverse range of styles. You can hear it in Joe Satrian's “Satch Boogie," White Zombie's “More Human Than Human,” and Aerosmith’s hit “Love in an Elevator” And if that's not enough diversity for you, i's also comfortably entrenched throughout the whois pop/dance and rap repertoire, from Janet Jackson and Sat ‘n Pepa to Snoop Doggy Dog. TOOT BTID OTST ITD Php fre Example 28 uses a typical double time shuffle chythm, ‘applied in the hard rock genre. Rather than “swinging” the eighth notes as in a normal shulfe, here the sixteenths are ‘swung, and the upbeats fall exactly halfway between down- beats (as they do in normal time). ‘This is one of those things that is a lot more complicated to explain, and read in notation, than itis to play by ear. So listen to example 28 as itis played on the video and you'l catch on right away. 28 ‘Doubletime Shute Fee! NG