You Won't Find These on Chord Charts - Alternate Open Chords 

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have a look at that channel.

Yes I've often thought Johnny Marr's use of open strings in his rhythm playing was a big part of the defining sound of The Smiths. I think for guitarists, one of the subtle benefits of using open strings is that they can create more of a varied interval structure in our chords. Another example that came to mind today was the opening of Foo Fighters' Times Like These. That open B (2nd string) gives the chord a very distinctive quality.

Thanks for taking the time with it. I set out for open chords to only be part of a wider topic. But it became a topic in of itself!

So nice to read, thank you! I'm sure you'll have seen how my lessons have evolved over time and I really do think the best is yet to come. I've learned a lot since you first subscribed, both with music in general and in creating more incisive lessons and I hope that continues to show. Really appreciate your time over the years my friend.

Your beyond patience is appreciated!

Emilio, musical brother, I hope this lesson has provided a catalyst for your own creation. Keep those eyes and ears (and strings where appropriate) open.

Absolutely this is an area of study. And with the benefit of convenience (fewer fingers, more colour). I too grew up with using open strings in chords. It's a very subtle area of study, but I just don't see it in the beginner's manuals and traditional chord charts. It had to be out there.

I love this.

David, you've been a supporter of my content for some time and I recognise and appreciate that. Thank you so much.

You know what, sometimes it just takes that one idea and boom you've just expanded your creative options. I think that's what this video is ultimately about. It's kind of random in how we might place a familiar shape up the neck and keep the strings open. But at the same time, it's what is available to us for a given chord. It can create something that isn't possible using all-fretted strings.

@@fretjamguitar yea, what's crazy is I've been playing for 8 years now or so and I've loved playing the chord D(add9,11). Playing the G string on an open C is just something that never acurred to me lol. For the Gadd9 you can leave the high G out and play the high E for a G6(9) and playing that after an Emaj is neat. Emaj, G6(9), Asus2, you could also add the Dsus2. I usually loop those chords and practice soloing in E Dorian.

@@oPosiidon2800 From the Key of E MAJOR/C#min.... You can play the four outside strings open. Im going to finger pick it.... A sus F Maj....( LESS the BARR) as the N6 chord of E MAJOR ( 1st fret) Then Im simply going to lift my middle finger to let the Open A ring.. Then G4...against open top 4 strings Then F# BARR at the 2nd fret. Then D Maj as N6 of C# min Then G# min Then C# min If you use E Harmonic MAJOR ...it's A lyd b3 ( A min) But of going to play the C MAJOR barr shape.(LESS the barr..8th fret) against open B/E Then A min.....against the open B/E Then G# min Barr Then C# min barr.. Sometimes...I'll simply make the C# sus9 shape..against open high E ( C# min add 9) The magic is I'll also reach over to play the D note as alternative Bass note or play the G# with my THUMB wrap over the Low E string The guitar sounds BEAUTIFUL in E MAJOR/C#min. added/inserted chord to get dreamy , sexy feel to it :-P Im finger picking it....it sounds like a harp

Merci mon ami. Je suis désolé que ces vidéos ne vous communiquent pas dans votre langue principale. Ceux qui parlent anglais sont dans une position privilégiée par rapport à l'histoire et j'en suis gêné. En Angleterre, nous avons appris le français à l'école, mais c'était très basique. Je veux communiquer dans toutes les langues et j'espère que la musique est la façon dont je peux le faire.

Ah you're already there!

It's all connected to knowing the Major scale in all seven positions. This videos examples, plus all seven diatonic keys and the accompanying modes are all directly connected to that. If you learn that, then you know all of this and watching this particular video is only suggesting different ways of applying those seven shapes. It only gets more complex when adding "exotic" scales, and or chromatic stuff. But even those ideas are many times easier (or I should say actually _possible)_ once one knows the major scale all across the fretboard. My apologies if I seem at all disparaging though, my intention is the exact opposite. Only to show where I can see you must be stuck. It's either that or he's only confusing you with the names of the chords. If so, then you need to know for starters that the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are only = to A, B, C, D, E, F, and G in the key of A minor. If you are playing in the key of E minor for instance, then it's 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 = E, F#, G, A, B, C, and D (or E = 1, F# = 2, G = 3, A = 4, B = 5, C = 6, and D = 7). Play the first position minor scale starting on the low string, fifth fret. And then the E minor scale in the open position. Notice how the shape of both of those keys are still exactly the same? Only the fifth fret of the A minor scale is like the nit on E minor scale in open position. But if you think of those shapes, the numbers just transfer with the shape. So now take the last example (the key of E minor) and build an E minor chord in the open position. The three notes are E, G, and B. So starting from the low string you have an open E, then on the next string a B note on the second fret, then another E note on the second fret of the next string, the next string is an open G note, then an open B note on the B string, and an open E note on the high E string. It's E, G, and B. Or 1, 3, and 5 = an E minor chord. Now do the same exact thing but thinking of the 5th fret as the "nut" or "open notes." We're back to A, B, C, D, E, F, and G being = to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. So the A minor chord is still 1, 3, and 5, but now the notes are A, C, and E. The only difference is where those chord and scale shapes are moved to. In this, the most complex difference there is, the E minor chord and accompanying scale in that position are using the open strings. Whereas you can play those same shapes on the fifth fret, but your index finger replaces the "nut." Hopefully that doesn't feel overwhelming. But look at it this way: that's essentially music theory 101 in a nutshell. If you get that under your fingers, the rest is not just a 100 times easier, it's actually possible. For those who don't learn that, oh well. Never forget, essentially it's just seven shapes to memorize. [Note: both examples are minor keys (because those are easier for us mere guitarists, lols), so the 3rd's are both "minor" 3rd's or "flat" thirds. This is because the Major scale is considered the basic starting point (at least in western music).] P.S. I also advise learning the names of the notes as you go. I learned this best in the beginning by filling in the notes myself on blank scale graphs. But this was the early 1980's, so I was mostly drawing out six horizontal lines by hand on a piece of paper (archaic, I know, lols), then filling in the vertical lines for the frets. But even by the late 1980's most music stores had the blank graphs you could buy. Now you could easily do this in photoshop once, then make a copy of it any time you learn a new scale, and fill in the correct notes. Some people at least seem to do fine without writing them all down, but I've noticed it's almost always those people who don't know what literally every note on the fretboard is at a glance. I do because I spent that time writing them all down from scratch myself. My point there is, you can learn the seven shapes and get by just fine and understand any of this well enough to apply it yourself. Or you can go the extra step and be able to transcribe virtually anything that uses the 12 note system. As an example, after just a couple of years of doing this sort of stuff, I was already transcribing Bach and Paganini violin solos for electric guitar.

@@aylbdrmadison1051 Thank you!!

@@aylbdrmadison1051 i really appreciate you took the time to write all this down. THanks a lot !!!

So glad it helped!

Beautiful! I love how the open 9th is sequenced above the m3.

Thanks! It's all using modified presets from a Boss GT-001.

@@fretjamguitar do you offer your presets on the boss app? Haha. 🙃

I'm actually working on a course on that very subject! I'll be sure to upload lessons that take ideas from that.

I'll put it to the vote mate.

Pretty much. Form the root and 3rd, 5th and/or 7th on the lower strings and then see how the open string interact with that.

Thank you! If you jump to 12:07 you'll see a table of relationships that were used in the opening example. Focusing just on the fretted strings, we have... G#m7 over E (major 3rd relationship) G#m over C#m (5th) F#m over D (major 3rd) F#m9 over Bsus (5th) G#m7 / Emaj7 over E (major 3rd / root position) D#m7 / F#m6 over B (major 3rd / 5th) Bm7 over A (major 3rd)

Thank you my friend! The pdf, along with other content, is available on my Patreon (link in description). I would also like to offer the pdf in exchange for a one-time donation if you prefer not to join Patreon. You can email me (mike at fretjam.com) and I'll set you up!

What is the size of the pdf. Like content size.

@@deetee5156 It's 81 pages, so not massive, but digestible. I just wanted to offer a more comprehensive yet concise and accessible guide to these kinds of chords.

Sorry for the confusion there. The book is available in the member's area when you join on the 2nd or 3rd tier. If you prefer not to join Patreon (which I totally understand) just send me an email (mike at fretjam.com) and I'll send you the details. Cheers!

@@fretjamguitar I had to add myself to your email whitelist to email you !

​@@somethingoff1327 Ah sorry about that. I received and responded to your email. Thanks again for your time my friend.

it's up to you

Simply put, it's been a long, evolving, collaborative process of discovery across many different cultures. We started with basic melody - lines of single pitches. Then we learned how pitches interact with one another - two part, three part, four part (etc.) harmony. Some time later those harmonies and their naturally related pitches were collectivised into recognisable systems/structures such as the diatonic scale (the basis of tonal music and the modern concept of key center). Obviously there are some gaps to fill there! The fascinating thing (for me at least) is how all this stuff already existed in the physical universe long before humans perceived and standardised it into some kind of communicable formula. There were always frequencies that could sound simultaneously and would one day be pleasing to the ears of a conscious perceiver. And there were always intrinsic, naturally occurring relationships between collections of frequencies that would one day become known as (for example) "relative minor/major". Music is, in a way, physics all the way down. And like all other physical phenomena, it just needed a conscious agent (actually many conscious agents) to perceive and formalise some kind of strategy around it in order to realise objective physical energy as subjective meaning. As for me, I'm in a very privileged position in terms of being able to draw on that vast, evolved history of musical discovery and present it in a digestible way for a new audience.

@@fretjamguitar thank you

Yes, I see you there...

I've been playing/learning for 23 years. Trust me you can learn a hell of a lot more than I did in that time frame.

Wanna get a donut?

Beer and kebab?

@@fretjamguitar you seem like a coors lite kinda guy

@@Max.Sinister Only if there's no IPA or tap water available.