Teer) | . Cer)A PAINLESS PATH TO COOL CHORDS ‘ale re important difference between 3 ‘common guitar chord voicings and ewes ther keyboard equlvatents is that the lay-out of a keyboard facilitates clase voteed Inversion whereas the fourin-intervals suitor's mainly tuning dictates thatthe component notes of @ chord mast be certain stance apart from each other. Guitarists scking that ‘clusters oF notes effect n thee chord voicings have options, raging from the ncomporation of open strings tothe use of painful fingerings and huge stretches, Tis month, wel take 2 look at an spproach which works in any key and doesn hhur any tendons. So, discard that pick, prepare ‘Your right hand for some unusual activities and heck out the chord diagrams on the right “These voicings obviously place unreasonable demands on your fretting hand, so they have to be executed using that unfashionable but hihly useful technique, right hand tapping Hf you're not accustomed to tapping, the idea i to strike the siings decisively and just behind che cquied fet, using the fh fingertips to sound out notes while the thumb sits on the top edge of the fretboard anchoring your hand (for greater accuracy) To play the rst shape, for instance you would anchor your gfh thumb on the low E | String side of the ferboard, around the Xtth position [obscuring those helpful double ds, but rt to worry), Then place your rls index and middle fingers on the A and D strings respectively atthe 1th fet aud try to find a comfortable hand position. You'l probably find ic eases i'you keep | the two Angers in contact with each other with the fleshy underside of the middle Angetip resting om the near side of the index Fingernail so ‘the whole assembly & locked into position and a ‘Simple pinching motion should provide Gy and Dy Meanwhile, the left hand targets its first thrce fingers on the G, low E and B sings, and locks ‘hem in the appropriate positon so that, as with the other hand, a single pinch between the hums and fingers sounds out al three remaining notes of the chord voieing simultaneously. (if you nave touble with the sides of your fingertips damping the strings which your Wh is nny 10 fret, experiment with the angle of your on the egtcD Forth wi lesan uses Pere St niga gain reb mid bass es olput evel bhi 32 6 4 199 © Rigor Jargon buster ‘oF the component noes a2 i coe pron, Te chords te llamas the sound tech vienschordal tapping a painiess path to cool chords. | - Cn find a comfortable grip and satisfactory alignment with the plane ofthe strings (Mf helps, Jennifer Batten has described her own highly relevant hand positioning 2s Seaver brs SareyJoder ve “Shaking hands with the neck". so if you're oveumieststctrn tapping teemique fees anything like at, you're Star toléworh theron wre pobably doing it right) epee nalenies Note hove this (end the other shapes, which secstmpenlerarirsed=7t cay he tackled in the same way) Features @ a Teg selection of pitches in lve proximity, for an ce eee cea reneed elect which not only sounds but even fees a bit Tctstscuwwisonnam: ‘hea Keyboard chord These note ers are Srdonstoenes a achieved hy ang higher fe in a similar eter mmiteninNel othe ower eon the tp ng Surge ea-pcni pesacee caisson ee evmaauat The ECD contains thee racks perilning to this designe to ilstrte the sound ofthese tecalticting ptsoratie howl tapping busines: an ito, a demo piece vokings fn context, Hope yu! have a ton essa fund a backing track. Tese are based on two Of fun nvegting he posites of tapping. Shove of tie chord char below, whic wes Unt next time. t Aamaj9 @Sause = Bbmtt ae qmaja Gosust——Bhmit lmajziad ——obmayisitnt) cima © asosued comaie arseues comaie For the fit chorus, the demo tune feaares the shapes played 35 happens if you hemmer-on one of two Fingertips ata time for an black chords, and the second chorus then demonstrates what arpegiated effect, Here's a transeription of those bars vn sean sauna mera ote inate 68 guitar techniques |july 1999Grosuse arses i wea or Go sage July 1999, gutear techntewes | 67 { |