\nSo if you aren’t sure about chord keys, that’s a good primer. \u00a0However, beyond that, why not teach yourself some less common chords. \u00a0Chord “extensions” are simply added harmonic notes that change the sound of a chord. \u00a0For instance, a basic G chord changed to a Gadd5, gives it a fuller, more majestic (for lack of a better word) sound. \u00a0A Gadd5 is fretted like this:<\/p>\n
Gadd5<\/strong>\r\n -----------\r\n | | | | | |\r\n |_|_|_|_|_|\r\n | 1<\/strong> | | | |\r\n |_|_|_|_|_|\r\n 2<\/strong> | | | 3 4<\/strong>\r\n |_|_|_|_|_|<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
<\/pre>\nJust adding that third finger to the third fret of the 2nd string gives the G a whole new dimension. \u00a0In fact, I know some guitar players who have permanently replaced any G they play with a Gadd5 because they like the sound of it better! But there are many other \u00a0G chords with different extensions, so I’m going to give you a bunch of them here just so you can play with them:<\/p>\n
Gadd5 G6 Gadd9 G11<\/strong>\r\n ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------\r\n | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |\r\n |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|\r\n | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | 2 | | | | | 1 | |\r\n |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|\r\n 2 | | | 3 4 2 | | | | | 3 | | | | 4 2 x 3 | | |\r\n |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|<\/pre>\n(Note: the \"x\" in the G13 chord means that you mute that string<\/pre>\nwith the back of your second finger)<\/pre>\nSo you can see that just by changing a couple of notes from a normal G chord, you can find lots of variations. \u00a0Sometimes I have found myself fingering some kind of chord without even knowing what to call it! \u00a0All I know and care about is the fact that it sounds cool. \u00a0Eventually I have found the names by using a website called Gootar.com<\/a>\u00a0and typing in the fingerings on their little Java chart. \u00a0It gives me a few names to choose from :-). The point is that you should explore how you play your regular chords to get out of your regular chord “rut”.<\/p>\n
The web is an excellent place to find chord charts if you are looking for new ones to try out. Chordie<\/a>\u00a0has a great one that gives all kinds of variations of all of the standard chords, and I’m sure you can find others just by Googling “guitar chord chart”.<\/p>\n
There is something about the sound of a new chord that can do all sorts of things to your ear when you are trying to write a song. \u00a0Sometimes the subtlest change can inspire something entirely new for you. \u00a0So find yourself some cool chords and get busy!<\/p>\n
IJ<\/em><\/p>\n
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