Adding To the Guitar Chords

Now that we have our chords, we are going to take a note and sustain it through all of the chords. The note is going to be on the 1st string (bottom string), 3rd fret. In order to easily hold the original chord shapes and the pedal point, it could be necessary to change the fingering of the chords.

A way to play through the chords with the pedal point could be like this:

You might be wondering about why the A Minor chord changes to an A Minor 7th. This is because the pedal note on the A Minor chord is an entirely new note that was not found in the chord before. In all the other chords, the note was present before, in a different octave.

Let’s look at the notes:

• G Major G B D
• E Minor E G B
• A Minor A C E
• C Major C E G

Out of all the original chords, A Minor is the only one where the note “G” is not present. So when you ad the note “G” as the pedal, it actually changes the name of the A Minor chord.

Which Note Do I Use For A Pedal Point?

Why did I use the “G” note (bottom string, third fret) for the pedal point? That note is in the key that the chords are in. Without getting into too much detail, you can figure out a new pedal point with the same chords. Just use your ear. If a note sounds good as a pedal point for the chords, then it is probably in the key. Try and see if you can take a group of chords and come up with your own pedal point chord progressions.

Later!

In this lesson, you will learn some guitar riffs to such Black Sabbath songs as: Iron Man, The Wizard, Paranoid, and Sweet Leaf. Before we get to the riffs, I first want to explain some similarities with these riffs. Every riff we are learning uses power chords. I am sure many of you know what these are, but for those who don’t yet, they are moveable fingerings that consist of 2 notes played at the same time. Technically, they are not actually chords, because the definition of a chord is three or more notes ringing at the same time. However, this is the name they are commonly known as.

Take a look at these chord shapes below:

These chords are played with the first (index) and third (ring) fingers. Remember to mute the strings that have an “X” on them. The cool thing about power chords is as long as you keep the same fingering or “shape,” then you can move them anywhere on the guitar.

Another similarity that Paranoid and The Wizard have is the use of the pentatonic minor scale. These riffs use not only power chords, but also single notes that come from this scale. Play this scale, one note at a time, starting on the top string (left side). Be sure to use the correct fingering.

Now that you have an idea where the chords and notes to the riffs come from, lets take a look at the main riff to Iron Man. With this riff, take the power chord built off the 6 th string and move it to the specified locations.

The next riff to look at is Sweet Leaf. This riff uses power chords built on both the 6 th and 5 th strings.

Now we have two riffs that combine power chords and single notes found in the pentatonic minor scale. For the riff in Paranoid , the scale starting point will be the 12 th fret.

Finally, we have the main riff from The Wizard. This also combines power chords and single notes. This time, the starting point of the pentatonic scale will be the 5 th fret.

As you can see, there are always patterns and common elements found in music. It helps to identify these to be able to see the big picture when learning guitar. That way, notes found in songs will not seem randomly placed.

See if you can take this knowledge and compare some other song riffs you already know. Do any of the riffs use the power chord shapes or do any single note lines fall in the pentatonic minor scale?

Later.