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So I definitely intend to learn barre chords and have already played (or rather formed) a number of them successfully. But it’s interesting that you always have options on the guitar, in other words, there are workarounds. Andy Summers never played them at all:
“I’ve never played a barre chord in my life. I hate them”
During the interview, Summers touched upon how add9 chords with no major or minor third became one of the staples of his playing style. He said:
“And very purposely so. I mean, a lot of things influence one in life, and you can point it back to where it came from, as I often cite Béla Bartók. I had studied Bartók at college, so it was sort of already in my bag, where you could express chords without using the minor or major third, but instead use the added second or the ninth.”
“And this became very much a part of the style I used in the Police. I’ve never played a barre chord in my life. I hate them. You don’t need more than two or three notes to express a chord.”