Tip: The Dominant Chord
No matter what you see or hear in notated music, there are only three types of chords, as they relate to key centers: tonic, dominant and subdominant.
Learn About Guitar Chords
Learning about guitar chords, how they are made, what notes they contain and why you should learn the notes is an important step for beginners. As you move beyond the beginner level you’ll want to improve at changing chords smoothly and start making barre chords without too much fuss. Check out our handy guitar chord dictionary for help with the most common guitar chords.
Tip: The Subdominant Chord
You don’t need to know a bazillion chords in order to make music. In fact, there are only three you need to know: the tonic, dominant and subdominant.
Tip: The Big Picture of Making Music
The “Big Picture” of making music helps you understand how music works. Without that, then scales, chords and maybe even songs will make no sense.
Three’s a Crowd – Part Two
Paul Andrews makes a long awaited return to Guitar Noise with the sequel to his February lesson on power chords. Here you’ll find the lowdown on augmented and diminished power chords, plus examples from everyone from Bush to Hendrix to Metallica to Eminem.
Improving Your Chord Changes
Getting better at making chord changes is an early goal for every guitarist. Graham discusses how using the art of visualization can help you develop smooth chord changes, both in learning new chords and in practicing the ones you already know.
Three’s a Crowd
Paul Andrews returns to the pages of Guitar Noise with a primer on power chords, complete with practical examples from the music of Green Day, Nirvana, Blur, Blink 182 and (gasp!) The Kinks.
Chord Substitution
At long last, Tom takes the mysteries out of chord substitution, giving you detailed and simple explanations that will make you wonder why you ever worried about it in the first place!
Finding A Latin Groove – Part 1
Guitar Noise is pleased to welcome Peter Simms back to our pages. Peter’s got a new chord melody for you with a distinctive Latin feel to it. Get ready to provide both the bass and chordal rhythm/melody and to give your fingers (and thumb!) a workout.