does it matter which way you play a chord? do they sound the same or jus really similar? and for different chords how do you figure out different ways to play it that could be easier?
does it matter which way you play a chord?
In essence, no.
do they sound the same or jus really similar?
They tend to sound similar - an F played XX3211 will not sound a full as an F played 113211 nor will a C, played 032010, sound as full as a C, played 335553.
and for different chords how do you figure out different ways to play it that could be easier?.
Ahhhhhhh, Grasshopper, the answer is 42.
That all depends on the chords that come before and after the one you're considering - much comes down to figuring out the most advantageous voicing - perhaps making use of a pedal point, to change chords
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does it matter which way you play a chord?
The simplest answer is that it depends what you're playing before and after, and what might be the best way to finger that chord to make the change into it and the change out of it easier.
Best,
A :-)
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does it matter which way you play a chord? do they sound the same or jus really similar?
This is a sort of "yes, no, or maybe " question. :D
As Alan says, it mostly seems to depend on what comes before and after, for ease of fingering. (And Alan knows about a zillion times as much as I do about playing :) ).
In my limited experience, in most cases the chord probably comes and goes too quickly for any minor subtleties to be noticeable anyway But there can be occasions when it does matter rather more. Fingerpicking for instance.
If I'm strumming I can't usually pick a lot of difference between fingerings (unless of course the chord is played on a different part of the neck altogether). Sometimes the first note strummed 'flavours' the chord a bit, and also the last note you hear, but the rest seem to pretty much mix in most of the time.
With finger picking it can make quite a difference though as it can mean that you're picking a different note.
For instance:
E7
020100 (E, B, D, G#, B, E ) or
022130 (E, B, E, G#, D, E )
Same notes ( E, B, D and G#). But the different order can make quite a difference in a fingerpicking pattern, as you might end up with a B instead of a D, for instance.
(Hope I've got those notes and chord patterns right! :P )
how do you figure out different ways to play it that could be easier?
Alas, the 'standard' shapes often are the easy ones.... :wink:
But, to be serious, you need to first find out what the essential notes are that actually make up the chord. Then you see if there's another convenient way to play them.
So for the basic C chord the notes are C, E and G. You could play it so:
332010 (G, C, E, G, C, E ) all needed notes twice.
032010 (E , C, E, G, C, E) this is probably the most common, and the first E can be left out.
xxx010 ( G, C, E) Three notes, one finger, but still a C chord. Doesn't have as full a sound though, but can do at a pinch in some circumstances. :)
This will make more sense if you pick up your guitar and play the shapes above and listen to the differences. Also notice how the 3 E notes sound "the same" yet different, because they are an octave or more apart.
