CHORDS OF THE MONTH

It's amazing how one change of note can alter the sound and effect of similarly fingered chords.

The first chord of the month is the 7th, shown in the photograph as F7, using an 'E' shaped barre chord. As in a straight Major barre, the first finger goes across all six strings, the third finger on the third fret of the 5th string, and the second finger on the second fret, 3rd string. But the fourth finger comes off the third fret, 4th string, and moves to the fourth fret, 2nd string, giving you TWO flattened sevenths.

Played individually from the 6th (low) to the 1st (high) string, the notes sounded are F (tonic), C (5th), E flat (flattened 7th), A (major 3rd), E flat (flattened 7th) and another F on top.

A common enough chord and a common enough shape which can be played anywhere on the fretboard, with the sixth string dictating the tonic/root note.

Still holding an F7, move your fourth finger back one fret on the 2nd string, so that it sounds a D note. Hah! What difference! Immediately you've plunged from the common or garden rock chord into the heady world of Hornby Double 'O' Jazz chords.

A thirteenth chord? How do you get 13 with only six strings and four fingers? Think musical scales, Ronnie. Eight notes in a Major scale (1-8), with the eighth being the same note as the one an octave higher. A 7th chord is the tonic, major third, maybe the fifth, and the seventh notes struck in unison. A 6th chord is the tonic, major third, and the sixth struck in unison. A thirteenth chord is the tonic, major third, optional fifth, the sixth and the seventh struck in unison.

Six plus seven equals... ?

It is the combination of the two extra intervals that gives the 13th its name. So by moving your little finger you're right in there with the George Gershwins of this world.

A quick recap on the fingering for F13: same as the F7 but the fourth finger is placed on the third fret of the 2nd string. The notes sounded from low to high are F (tonic) C (5th), E flat (flattened 7th), A (major 3rd), D (the 6th which together with the 7th gives the chord its name) and an F on top.

THE ART OF SOLO

Undoubtedly the most fascinating area of guitar technique is so called solo playing.

The very popular Rockschool TV show (now available in column form elsewhere in this magazine) has been inundated with letters asking how to do it. In the July issue of One Two Testing, Deirdre Cartwright explained the Blues scale which provides the basis for the majority of rock related improvisations. In the same issue my 'Scale Of The Month' was the Major scale.

Both are examples of ascending and descending sequences, and between them they cover most of the notes of the musical stave and can be played with ease after not too much practice.

Whatever way you do it, it is important to consider factors that are rarely discussed on paper i.e. intention, reason and application.

INTENTION

The first incentive for the budding guitarist is to imitate those who give him excitement and entertainment. Some are happy to churn out Johnny-B-Goode licks while duck walking round the floor till they drop dead.

Others realise that those they wish to sound like have put years and years of study into the finished effect and apply themselves in a likeminded way. The important thing is to a) not worry that you're not sounding as 'good' as you want; b) to be content with what you're capable of, and, c) not be ashamed nor show any inferiority.

REASON

To be able to play fluently your understanding of the fretboard must be total. Spend a day exploring the sounds in the area from the 13th fret upwards on all six strings.

APPLICATION

Standing in front of the mirror playing along with your Dansette Major is one way of learning. Playing with like-minded opportunists is another, and at the risk of insulting your musical friends, stop and think what they are doing when you launch into your Rock For Woodstock Trilogy Wipeout Screecher Number One solo.

Your solo is echoing the lyrical content and there are two simple points for the musicians to remember, i) the vocalist must be heard and the accompaniment sympathetic, ii) the guitar solo must also sit on top of a similarly sympathetic rhythm section. Don't rely on amplification to balance the instruments. Too often the 'guitar break' becomes the 'Lets Go Nutty' section.

SEVEN STEPS TO HEAVEN

Enough of the theory – on with the practical.

Harking back to the Blues scale, I want to look at the positioning of your fingers around the middle of the fretboard.

(1) Place your third finger on the seventh fret of the 4th string. Using this A as the tonic I will now unfold potential options open to the soloist. Remembering to use your l.h. fingers economically letting them cover as wide an area as possible, place your (2) first finger on the fifth fret of the 3rd string. By playing first the A held by the third finger then the C natural held by the first, you can hear the relationship between root and flattened third (one of the two so called 'blue' notes in the scale – the other being the flattened 7th). Bend your first finger away and downwards to add feel. Pull the string and let the note whine and fluctuate. Add extra colour by flattening the first finger over the 2nd string, too, so that your plectrum hand can strike both strings simultaneously.

(3) Staying on the fifth fret, move your first finger over to the 4th string. This is the flattened 7th. Add this G to the A tonic and the C. Starting with the A, improvise a rhythmic ditty using all three notes, adding the option of bending the C.

(4) When you've got the perspective of these three notes, move your third finger across to the 3rd string, seventh fret.

This D is the fourth note of the A scale. From here you can slide the third finger up two frets to play (5) the E, or fifth note then (6) tuck in the first finger on the G of the 2nd string (eighth fret). From your position here you can now play the E on the ninth fret, 3rd string, with your second finger and to round it off nicely, (7) the A on the tenth fret of your 2nd string with your third finger. Now take these seven notes and experiment with them!

To reverse the run downwards the fingering is slightly different – the diagrams should make this clear. You can start this run with your third finger on any fret from the third to the twelfth on the 4th string.

Notice the triangular shape when holding the top note (in my example, the V) with the third finger; the second finger covering the E (ninth fret, 3rd string), and the first finger, the G (eighth fret, 2nd string).

You can sound just like Alvin Lee by picking these three notes as fast as possible over and over again. As a party piece, build up the speed of this triangular A-G-E pattern then advance the shape up the neck fret by fret e.g. B flat-A-F sharp; B natural-A-F sharp; C-B flat-G, etc. Your plectrum hand in fact only plays the A and the E, the G being 'pulled' by the first finger.

Then as you increase your speed, the A, too, will tend to be pulled. The r.h. doesn't always have to strike the exact number of notes – your l.h. fingers can often do it for you. In fact a useful exercise for strengthening l.h. fingers is to sound them on the fretboard without striking the strings with your r.h. at all. Really hammer the fingers on and/or pull them off to make the notes sound.