I've been going through and learning some of my favorite songs, and looking up some internet tabs to help me out. I know all the open position chords as well as the E and A-based barres and their minors. I've seen a lot of songs listed both ways.
For instance I'm learning Velvet Underground's Sweet Jane. Looks like this progression: D / D A / G / Bm A / D
How would I go about trying to hear whether these are open-position or bare chords?
Try both ways - open position and barre - and see which sounds best is the obvious answer.....
I like to play SJ with the open position chords on acoustic, but I do find it easier playing G at the 3rd fret, A and D at the 5th, and Bm at the 7th if I'm playing electric!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
I like to play SJ with the open position chords on acoustic, but I do find it easier playing G at the 3rd fret, A and D at the 5th, and Bm at the 7th if I'm playing electric!
that's what I've been doing, except I play Bm at the 2nd. Maybe I'll try to 7th fret for a faster change. :idea:
Is it more common to play barre chords on electric and open chords on acoustic, in general?
I think most people find it easier to play barres on electric guitars, they're generally a lower action than acoustics, so you don't have as much work to do holding the strings down...and electric fretboards tend to be a little thinner than acoustics....
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Is it more common to play barre chords on electric and open chords on acoustic, in general?
Apparently, open chords sound a lot better on an acoustic, whereas they don't always sound all that special on an electric. They can even sound a bit 'wrong', for some reason.
I really can't say why, but a friend who is an excellent, Conservatorium trained, musician assured me that it was so. I'd been complaining that I couldn't seem to get the sound I was looking for playing open chords on an electric, and he rattled off some technical explanation of why open chords often don't sound quite the way you'd expect on an electric - which of course I immediately forgot, and probably didn't understand anyway... :wink:
But, at a guess, I'd say that you get more open playing on acoustics, and more barres on electrics. As Vic says, barres are easier to play on an a electric, but they do seem to sound better too.
Anybody else think that open chords sound better on acoustics than electrics and, better still, know why?
Cheers,
Chris
It's just one of those things isn't it.....I think with me, the acoustic guitar is where I start planning a song....and I tend to use all six strings wherever possible, ie...in easy songs, I usually see a D chord tabbed like this....
E A D G B E
x x 0 2 3 2
whereas I usually play it like this.....
E A D G B E
2 0 0 2 3 2
I know that technically, that's a D/F# chord - the root note isn't the lowest note played - but to me it sounds a more vibrant, fuller chord....and as F# is part of a D chord anyway, why not use it?
I usually think of an acoustic in terms of texture.....in my own songs, I want a nice, full, fat acoustic sound....but the electric sound I want can sound just as full with 3 strings played, and isn't as liable to distortion....
I wrote a song for the SSG last week....Peace Of Mind.....recorded it the night after I'd written it, all I had was the rhythm guitar written down.....I used my acoustic for rhythm, it was partly palm-muted for the verses, but I used full strums for the chorus.....when I added electric guitar, I played the same chords (in open position!) but I don't think I ever played more than three strings at a time, and that was mostly the D G and B strings....again, palm-muted for verses, for the choruses I just used down-strums....
(You can listen to it by clicking on the www at the bottom of my posts...)
Acoustic finger-picking is where I try to get close to the neck....I like to use the lowest note available for the bass-line, and if it's an E chord, I'd much rather use the bottom E string open than the A string at the 7th fret, like you would in a barre chord...
And of course, some chords just don't want to be played close to the neck - if you've ever tried to play "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" for example, there's a C#minor in there....took me ages to master that! (It's in Easy Songs BTW.....)
Some songs can be done either way....Sweet Jane being a case in point.....another one is "More Than A Feeling" by Boston...there's about 4 guitars on that song, I love playing the rhythm on acoustic, but sometimes I'll play the G/C/Em/D riff in the chorus in open position, sometimes I'll go from open position (where I play the verses, fingerpicked) to barres... G at the third fret, across to C at the third, up to Em at the 7th, then D at the 5th.......that seems to work better for the descending chords between the chorus and 2nd verse.....
It's all a matter of taste and capability - if you're comfortable with barre chords, try and use them - if you're not, then try harder to use them......
BTW, if you're a Velvet Underground fan, I love to play "Waiting For The Man" on electric.....I usually start in open position, with the A chord, but then you have to barre the C# chord, up one fret for the D chord, and down three for the B.....
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Anybody else think that open chords sound better on acoustics than electrics and, better still, know why?
Wherever open strings are involved there are unavoidable dissonances because the notes sustain and often clash with successive notes on other strings. This isn't necessarily a bad thing on acoustics. Most acoustic fingerstyle guitarists exploit these clashes to add to the overall harmonic colour.
But when amplification is involved, especially with overdrive, the open strings sustain longer and clash more violently.
Fretting the notes avoids such clashes as the notes are completely under the player's control and damped before they get a chance to cause problems with subsequent notes.
Another reason is vibrato. Electrics are often played melodically (as in lead). Fretted notes can all be played with vibrato but open strings can't (except with a whammy bar). If you play 4 or 5 notes of a phrase with a distinct warm vibrato followed by a steady open string note it's a disappointing contrast.
This also applies to acoustics, but less noticeably as acoustics are rarely used to play melodically. There's usually harmony present which goes some way towards covering any momentary lack of vibrato.
Wherever open strings are involved there are unavoidable dissonances because the notes sustain and often clash with successive notes on other strings.
Thanks for the great explanation Fretsource. :D
Reading all the reasons in your post brought back what Drew had told me - so I'll try and remember it this time. Not that remembering is exactly my strong point these days.... :oops:
NineInchRails,
Good post, and very interesting answers from Vic and Fretsource.
I'm probably a bit behind you - pretty fluid at decent swag of open position chords on my acoustic, and fair at the E, Em, and Am barres, but still needing to broaden my scope and skills with the barres. So you've prompted me to take the dust cover off the electric and do some concentrated barre practice. :)
It should feel a bit easier on the electric, and it's been way too long since I played plugged in...... poor guitar has probably forgotten what it feels like to be connected to an amp... :roll:
very helpful discussion, folks :D
Fret - your explanation regarding sustain and amplification makes a lot of sense. I now remember Wes_Inman explaining why he only play a few strings on electric, b/c otherwise it sounds too muddy.
Chris_C : good luck with the barre practice. I've found it helpful to just go over the songs I already know on acoustic, and play the same progression as barres on electric. It really is easier with the 10's on there, (vs. 12's on my acoustic). But I'm a bit different than you where I spent all my early playing days strumming full chords, but I still have trouble playing indiviual notes in quick succession.
Vic: As much as I like "Waiting for the Man" I'm more of a Loaded fan myself, and "Rock and Roll" will be my next VU undertaking. Chords are simple, just gotta get my singing down to match Lou's "unconventional" phrasing :idea:
