GUITAR
CLEAN CHORDS | David Harsh
If you play open chords on the guitar , do you want those chords to sound clean ? Sure ! We all do .
Now , some of the chords we play don ’ t involve all 6 of the strings . And that ’ s ok . However , if we let all the strings ring on these chords , even the ones we don ’ t need , our chords can start to sound muddy .
I ’ m going to offer you a way to access three color chords in the key of G . While it ’ s available , I encourage you to watch the companion video lesson that goes along with this article , because it ’ s highly visual and will add dimension to what I ’ m teaching you . The video lesson is available now at www . guitarsuccess4u . com / cleanchords .
5 th string for C . With the 6 th string omitted and the 4 th string muted , we only have the notes ( from low to high ) C , G , D and G .
Now comes the special trick . I ’ m again going to use my 2 nd finger to mute an unneeded note from the open 4 th string , D . But in addition to this , I ’ m going to wrap my thumb around to mute the unneeded open 6 th string E , just touching it – not fretting it . This is much more attainable with a moderate guitar neck size ; classical guitars are too wide for a thumb wrap .
So , this version of C2 sounds much cleaner than if I were to let the 6 th and 4 th strings ring open ( as I demonstrate in the video ).
add to the palm muted feel that provides some artistry . ( See the video for a demonstration .)
These three chords can be easily used in G Major , as I said , but also in the A Dorian mode , the D Mixolydian mode , and the E Aeolian mode , which of course , is E natural minor . This is just a glimpse of what ’ s possible , but I feel like it puts us on the right track for much cleaner playing . And whether the people listening to us know it consciously or not , we are playing with greater skill and precision , because only the notes we want to ring are sounding .
So , use these strategies to help make all your chords sound clean . Keep in touch !
Let ’ s take a look at three color chords in the key of G . The first chord is a G5 ( no 3 rd ), a strong , open chord that literally only consists of the notes G and D over and over . I fret this with my second finger on the low G on the 3 rd fret of the 6 th string , and then I add my 3 rd finger on the same fret of the 2 nd string for a high D . One more note – the high G on the 3 rd fret of the 1 st string , with my 4 th finger .
The special trick I want to make sure you observe is that I ’ m using my 2 nd finger to mute the 5 th string so that I don ’ t have an “ A ” sounding in this chord . So , the notes ( from low to high ) are G , D , G , D , and G . Listen to how clean this sounds with that 5 th string muted . This sounds much cleaner than if the 5 th string A were to ring open , unmuted .
Next up is a version of the IV chord in G , which many people like to call a C2 . Literally , the only difference between this chord and the G5 chord is that I move my 2 nd finger over to the 3 rd fret of the
One more color chord on the V chord with a D5 ( no 3 ). This chord literally only has 3 notes . They are : open 4 th string D , my 1 st finger on the 2 nd fret of the 3 rd string for A , and my 3 rd finger on the 3 rd fret of the 2 nd string for another D . The notes are simply D , A , and D .
It ’ s time for a special trick , and this actually involves three fingers . First , I ’ ll let my 3 rd finger rest against the open 1 st string to keep it quiet . Second , my 2 nd finger is going to lightly touch the open 5 th string , and maybe even the 6 th string . I ’ m not fretting these notes at the 3 rd fret – I ’ m just silencing them with the tip of my 2 nd finger . And then , as before , I ’ m going to use my thumb to wrap around and silence the open 6 th string .
So , half of the strings will ring , and half of them will be silenced , allowing for a much cleaner chord than if strings 6 , 5 and 1 were to ring open .
Once I ’ ve gotten my fretting hand disciplined and trained to complete these tricks for each of these chords , I can just enjoy them in sequence . And my strumming hand is free to strum any or all of the strings . I can try to strum only the strings I need , but the added bonus is that if I do graze the silent strings , they sound percussive , and they
© GuitarSuccess4U . All rights reserved . David Harsh David is a nationally touring worship leader , songwriter and performing artist . He is passionate about equipping guitarists to discover their potential . Learn more and join at www . GuitarSuccess4U . com .