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How to pick notes in a chord to play individually
Sorry if something like this has been posted before, but I wasn’t able find it in the search. The question I have is how to pick or know what strings to play separately for flavor in a chord. I’m just now starting to get the hang of reading music, but I don’t have the ear learned yet, so when I hear a song I’m not sure what people are hitting when they are playing.
A couple of examples. The first is I was watching a tutorial from Marty Music a while back on how to play Mother by Danzig. In going from a G to A power chord he strums one or two notes before changing, but he goes so quick and doesn’t really call it out as he’s doing it. And he didn’t post tabs.
Another is Luka by Susan Vega. The way I learned it originally was all the chords, but I wan’t great at listening back to the song and when it came up on the radio the other day, I was totally ready to play it in by head. However, a lot of the opening chords and in a few other spots start with the first two strums being individual notes before the chord then change. Again, haven’t really looked for tabs, but I feel like in this case it’s more a vibes than something concrete.
Is there a hard and fast rule on what to choose, personal preference, or is this like the Hotel California lesson where it’s more like a transition but within the chord itself?
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3 Replies
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Learning Music is like sailing on the Pacific ocean. There is not just one way to sail. There Are many different ways to move across the water. A long time ago I decided I didn’t want to pick a tune exactly like it was taught in a lesson. I wanted to learn how to play a song like my meager mind heard that song.
I’ve started to reach a place in my learning and playing where The melody is not set in stone. There are walk ups,, walk downs pauses, adding extra notes to a scale, changing timing of different sections of a piece. Just all kinds of things that only happen if you play a lot.
If you hear a folk guitarist and a jazz musician play Mary had a little lamb, each of them will have a different interpretation of the melody. They didn’t get that from only a book or online lesson. They experimented within the framework of the song and their years and hours of playing guitar. You have to learn to play the “right way” and then you need to learn how to pick a tune using all of the hard earned and long hours of playing to interpret what you hear in your head when playing that song.
For me it isn’t something that I can explain, it just “happens” as you gain experience and that only happens by playing with a joy of and a discovery of a slight changes that sounded good to me. I remember learning “All along the watch Tower” and how the tune has evolved over the years. Each time I play the song I play it slightly different than I played it a year or 5 years ago.
I look at a song tab and run through it a few times loosely , maybe start at half speed to see where the holes are that I might want to experiment with a few extra notes, usually within the scale, and sticking fairly close to the melody, just to make the song more of a personal experience.
For most of us, i think experience and practice open up the mystery areas.
Start by learning the song scale backwards and forwards.
Learn to practice with a metronome. That will take time
Learn how to play 2 of the 4 beats in a measure and having beats 3 an 4 available to walk up to the next chord change. Just like our lesson on Friday. that is a start.
If you actually want to learn to play guitar realize that it is a life long journey that after you learn some basic stuff will be full of amazing experiences.
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I appreciate the advice. I will admit that it is a little mix of impatience and lack of confidence that’s probably making this a little more confusing than it needs to be. I’m still both in my head and maybe a little too enthusiastic with the stuff I can do well that’s leading to this frustration.
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The only wa I know to figure out what other tones sound good with strummed chord is to know what notes are available in that key that music you are strumming. That is where scale practice comes in.
The music scale in the key of C is – C, D, G, E, F, G, A, B flat and B.
B flat is the dominate 7th scale tone and the B note is Major 7th tone in the Key of C. Most of us use the dominant 7th note when playing a 7th chord. More advanced guitar players, like jazz style players, will use the major 7th tone a lot. Both notes are available and add a different tonal “feeling” to what you are playing.
If you practice this scale on your fret board you will learn to know what fret positions are available to pick when playing any chord in the key of C. you will also learn where the notes are located on the fret board.
All of this will involve much practice time. I actually like guitar practice time as i learn so much that i can add to my playing.
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