As i slowly improve, i try to relearn and improve the guitar parts for the songs we play, and next on my list is "I FEEL GOOD".
Not a difficult song for the guitarist, i thought i'd spice it up with playing a little funk riff, (i used to just strum a chord accompanyment and kept low in the mix for the keyboard to sound out).
Anyway, the chords are D and G (both major) for the verses (or at least thats how we play it).
I worked hard my new new funk part at home and proudly gave it its debut at rehearsal but something was wrong, it just didnt sound right
.
Part of what i come up with lands on a D and G note over the D Chord (with the D in the bass). this was the part which sounded like it clashed.
However, to me the D and G (although technically a G5 inversion), could be considered a Dsus4 with the 5th missing. As such, it should fit, but the rest of the lads were less than happy with it and it got the boot. Fair enough, but this left me confused - shouldnt a Dsus4 always sound okay over a D major - i couldnt hear any clash myself?
Its not a big issue for the band, as we all get on very well, and whats agreed is agreed so ill not mention it again to them - but deep down i need to understand why it doesnt work - and i have a sneaky suspicion it is something the bass is doing which is wrong.
so, in a nutshell - should a sus4 chord always sound fine over a major chord, or not?
thanks in advance -
a very confused Al
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Nothing ever always sounds good. The melody line of I Got You (I Feel Good) has a lot of blue notes, particularly the F natural, so your G note isn't just concerned with the D chord, but also with all the other harmonies and dissonances created by all the parts. And that's got to include the vocals.
Try using C (part of D7) as part of your riff and see how that works.
Hope this helps.
Peace
David, i dont know what i'd do without some of your replies - you have truely helped me over this past 12 months.
Thank you very much indeed.
im off to reach for my guitar and ill try to replace the sus4's with 7th chords. thanks. Al
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
You're very welcome, but truth is a lot of these questions are about the feel of a song and the answers can vary from person to person. Generally, funk has more of a blues vibe, so you want to think about sevenths and riffs that are based more on the minor pentatonic scale, even when the funk song is in a major key. Definitely try playing the D minor pentatonic over the chord progression and you'll find it probably sounds more "funky." Hopefully your band mates will think so, too.
In general, and this is again one of those things that's fairly personal in taste so don't write it in stone, the sus4 chord sounds more at home in pop and most rock music than in funk. Doesn't mean you can't use it, though.
Glad to be of help and looking forward to hearing how things are going.
Peace
