Re: Best Way to Practice Moveable Chords???
Originally Posted by
Sherry Cadenhead
I attended an acoustic gospel jam yesterday with a friend who has played mandolin well for years. Afterwards I asked for suggestions for improving my skills. She indicated I should learn "all the chord shapes" so I can play in any key. I do know the movable shapes, but freak out when a tune is in any key other than G, C, D, A or F. Is there a systematic way to practice, say, just the I, IV, V(7) chords in different keys so as to get the hang of those before moving on?
I like the idea of playing along with recorded music, and could actually do that in different keys at Musicnotes.com now that I think about it, although I would only be able to play the preview page.
Other suggestions?
Hmmm ... all of them ... Well, there are only four strings, equidistant apart, shouldn't be too difficult ...
As I recall, when I was starting out, so long ago memory barely existed, there seemed to be three basic chord shapes for major chords: G, C, and E (which started as a D, but was adjusted for barring purposes).
G: 0023 => A: 2245 => C: 5578 etc
C: 0233 => D: 2455 => E: 4677 etc
E: 1224 => F: 2335 => G: 4557 etc
I'm sure some will be aghast at my use of barred seventh intervals. I find they sound strong to me, more like power chords. So I'm a rocker. I'm trying to get you started on moving up the neck, in different keys. You can adjust to your liking, making that first C 523 as many do. Try different fingerings, see what you like.
For seventh chords, in these forms:
G7: 0021 => A7: 2243 etc.
C7: 0213 => D7: 2435 => E7: 4657 etc.
E7: 1020 => G7: 4353 etc.
You'll notice the second form doesn't contain the root note. Yeah, bit of a problem. Doing that makes for a hand-stretching chord, up there with the G chop chord of 7523. You may try working toward that. These chords are easier to play, move up the neck, and sound pretty much right. Plus, that E7 - You may recognize that, if you play it just so, as the main chord in "Wooly Bully." There's a fun one!
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
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