Hey guys. I'm confused as hell. This guy plays HALF STEP DOWN, and plays these chords:
022000
x35050
x57060
Then he plays a weird form of the E-minor (022000) like this:
x79980
then he stays around that area of the neck and plays chords that sound exactly like the next ones listed above, but I can't figure it out.
Let me try to explain this better...
He's tuned HALF STEP DOWN and he plays chords that sound almost EXACTLY LIKE THESE CHORDS:
Em
C
D (x54020)
only he plays them near the end of the neck (7th fret through 12th fret)
I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out exactly what chords he's playing..here's the video..it's right at the beginning..he starts out with that chord that sounds very similar to an Em (x79980)..then he changes to some other chord..then slides it down to a different chord...
Tuned down a half step is just a half step below standard tuning.What your friend is probably doing is playing the same chords in a different position then what you're used to seeing. Em,C,and D can be played on the 7th,8th and 10th frets.
First off, ignore the half step down bit completely unless you are trying to play along with it. Technically, if you are playing the Em shape tuned down half a step then you are actually playing Eb minor, but it's not important to learning a song unless you want to play it in exactly the same pitch.
An Em played x79980 is just playing Em using the Am shape. Am is x03320 right, so the 0 on the A string is the root, which is the note A. To play an Em on the A string, you just slide that shape up the neck until the root becomes E. 7th fret on the A string is E, so sliding the Am shape up gives you x79987. In his case he has left the top fret as 0 which is ok as this note is E anyway so it works and gives a cool ringing sound to it. Both x79987 and x79980 are Em chords.
You can also take this theory and apply it to the A major shape, or also use the D shape. For example, D is xx0232. If you want to play E with a D shape, you would find an E on the D string and make the shape from there, so this chord would be xx2454 because fret 2 on the D string is E. To make a C with the D shape, slide up and play x x 10 12 13 12 etc.
These are some basic ones but there are MANY different ways to voice chords. One I often use is to play, say A, as 5x7600 and Am as 5x7500. You can slide these shapes up and down (the open strings don't work with every chord) and the chord becomes whatever the root note on the bottom E string is. Those sort of voicings are used by Jeff Buckley a lot which is where I picked them up.
....example, D is xx0232. If you want to play E with a D shape, you would find an E on the D string and make the shape from there, so this chord would be xx2454 because fret 2 on the D string is E. ...
Good luck playing xx2454...unless you have fingers like ET... :wink: No offense intended....
You might want to throw in an inversion for this, instead, like 0x6454....
"A child of five could understand this...send someone to fetch a child of five !"--Groucho Marx
....example, D is xx0232. If you want to play E with a D shape, you would find an E on the D string and make the shape from there, so this chord would be xx2454 because fret 2 on the D string is E. ...
Good luck playing xx2454...unless you have fingers like ET... :wink: No offense intended....
You might want to throw in an inversion for this, instead, like 0x6454....
ET had nice long fingers, but not enough of them.
Music is the universal language.
Wow. Thanks a lot for the replies guys! I really appreciate it!! What he's doing is playing the Em higher up the neck of the guitar..and I"m wondering how I can play C, and (x54030) around that same location.
He first plays the Em like this: x79980
then he moves his finger positioning only slightly to play a chord that sounds very similar to a C chord.
Then he slides that positioning up the guitar to around the 10th fret or so to play a chord that sounds very similar to this: (x54030)
Could you guys possibly help me figure out how to play those chords near the higher frets?
Thank you very much!!!
Here's the video again..if you can figure it out I'll love you forever...It's right at the beginning:
Hi HisNameIsMatt,
Try using this chord finder:
Find the chord and then click on variations, you should find something towards what the other guys are talking about.
I tried and I still am not getting the right chords..I dont' know what to do
Sorry...
I looked at the video, but it made me kind of nauseous with all the jumping around, so I couldn't really see his fingering pattern.
Maybe is there is another video that is more clear, as I don't know the artist or the song.
Kenny
for instance..he plays this chord:
x35050 and it sounds just like a C chord..however..it doesn't show up on any of those chord finders
it's frustrating..I dont' know what the hell he is playing...
He plays these 3 chords in this order FIRST:
A) x79980
B) ???????
C) ???????
Then he plays these chords in THIS ORDER and they SOUND EXACTLY LIKE THE CHORDS ABOVE:
A) 022000
B) x35050
C) x57070
In the first set of chords he keeps his fingering around the 7-11th frets..
maybe this helps..thank you all for the help!
If x35050 is indeed a C (which the following site shows), then x57070 should be a form of Dadd9
Try this chord site to view the chords:
http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/pm/chord/chord
Then all you need is too find the variation at the higher fret board.
Sounds like he's just playing C and D with E shaped barre chords.
Try
1) Em x79980
2) C 8 10 10 9 8 8 (or 8 10 10 9 0 0)
3) D 10 12 12 11 10 10 (10 12 12 11 0 0)
Re my earlier post....maybe that d shape of xx2454 is too hard...I'm at work and trying to imagine playing the chord. I feel like it's doable, but maybe I'm wrong. Another option, and one I use a lot to play lead over a rhythm guitarist, is to use D and Dm shapes but only on the top 3 strings like xxx454 and xxx453 for E and Em. You can slide them up and down the neck and the root note is whatever the note on the B string is.
I'm going to take some screen shots of the video and then also post a sound clip of the studio version to see if anyone could figure it out. You guys are very helpful and I deeply appreciate you guys taking the time to help me identify these chords.
alrighty guys. Here's some help. Hopefully you guys can help me figure out what voicing chords he's using.
Here's some screen shots from the video..it's very hard to see what chords he's playing, but you might be able to get SOME clues from it:
Secondly. Here's a sound clip from the STUDIO version of the song:
http://depositfiles.com/files/732489
Lyrics to go along with the chord changes:
(x79980)
Liiffeee...it's crazy HOW
(??????) *Plays around the same area of the guitar as previous chord*
somethings never work OUT
(??????) *Slides up the neck of the guitar to around the 11th fret AREA*
But I'm hoping that this time goes RIGHT
(022000)
Cause I've tried sooooo HARD
(x35050)
To keep you hanging on this LIFE
(x57070)
I cannot for the life of me, figure out what he's playing at the beginning. Please listen to the sound clip and view the pictures. I DEEPLY APPRECIATE ANYONE'S HELP! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
