Do your guitar chords sound DEAD?
For those of us who play guitar to write songs (and if you don’t, what are you waiting for?) many times our chords can sound rather DEAD. Here, Andrew from Guitar5Day.com shows us how with a couple of simple adjustments, we can make our chords come ALIVE.
He was nice enough to also put together a short video (for SongwritingTipsOnline readers). A massive thanks to Andrew.
If we’re nice to him (hint hint… post a nice comment in the comments section below 
then I’m sure we’ll get some more cool stuff from him.
Take it away Andrew…..
One of my favorite and easiest things to do is taking a simple hammer on and making open chords come alive.
I have prepared a short video lesson for you.
What I am talking about is using the open chords C major, F Major and G major and simply hammering with the second finger.
Here is a tab that will give you an idea of what I mean: The only thing you do is take your 2nd finger off the string and then put it back on. Play with it.
e[]——————[]
B[]—-1–1–1——-[]
G[]—-0–0–0——-[]
D[]—-2–0–2——-[]
A[]—-3–3–3——-[]
E[]——————[]
The Exercise would look like this:
e[]——————————-[]
B[]—-1–1–1–1–1–1–1–1–1–[]
G[]——————————-[]
D[]—-2–0–2–0–2–0–2–0–2–[]
A[]—-3–3–3–3–3–3–3–3–3–[]
E[]——————————-[]
August 14th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Hey thanks! I love this! Thanks Andrew!! You rock!!
August 14th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Hi There,
Your demo of hammering on was very good. I also learned how to perform a bass run.
Thanks so much!
Bonny Bev
August 14th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
…yes, I certainly agree that’s its cool playing the Guitar. It was actually the first piece of instrument I learned to play over 10 years ago. I now major in playing the Piano/Keyboard - bt I sometimes feel like learning to play again.
Cheers,
KJ
August 14th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
This is awesome! Thanks Andrew!!!
Long live guitar players!!
-Kenny
August 14th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
thankyou for keeping in touch and sending me things, i enjoy reading your emails.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:50 am
wow, i played guitar for almost a year with 0 formal lessons =P and had had some trouble trying to write music to my lyrics. but ill definitely give this a go!
August 15th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I have always loved the guitar, but I took up the piano. I had hard time chording on fretboard and this is what lead me to piano, but this is really good info and I love the way Andrew breaks it down! Peace! Keep up the good work!
Ernest (Midiman)
August 15th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Hi Shamir,
I love the guitar. I have an IBANEZ. Every so often, I pick it up and practice. I take piano lessons, so most of my time is spent practicing.
If I could, I would give up working and follow the dictates of my heart. I also have a steelpan, but that is another story. I have to master the piano and guitar.
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