Uncommon Chords 101 Vibrant Voicings You Won t Find On A Typical Chord Chart. By Mike Beatham
Introduction Thank you for downloading Uncommon Chords! As the title states, contained within are 101 chords you won t find on a typical chord chart. As a result, using any of these chords in your songwriting, as alternatives to the standard barre and open chord forms we learn, will give your progressions an instant spark of originality. Many of these chords make use of open strings (often referred to as open chords). This gives them a particularly vibrant, full sound. However, included are also some lesser known movable chord forms which do not use open strings, and can therefore be positioned at any fret. However you choose to use the chords featured in this book, I hope they inspire more creativity in your songwriting and original interpretations of existing music. This list is by no means exhaustive, although this is likely only the 1 st volume of many! Try the chord forms you learn here in different positions, add and remove fingers/notes and see if you can expand the list further. Enjoy it! Remember to visit fretjam.com for quality free guitar lessons.
Before We Begin The diagrams show you where to put your fingers. First, number your fingers in the usual way, as shown below: Some chords involve the use of a barred finger. For example, taking the standard E form major barre chord, our index (1) finger is barred across all six strings. Here s how the barre would be represented in my diagrams: The fingerings used in the diagrams are only suggestions. If you find a more comfortable way of playing the chord, by all means use it!
If a string is not used in the chord, there ll be an as follows: marked on the diagram That would mean don t play the A string. Any strings not marked with a fingering or an X should be played as they are open. Pretty standard stuff! Fret numbers will be marked on diagrams where the chord form is to be played up the neck. If the chord is played down at the first few frets, however, you ll see a black bar representing the nut (where the guitar neck meets the head) instead of a fret number: That diagram has a nut, so that tells us we re looking at the first 4 frets. You'll notice some chords are labelled with a fret number below the diagram and others aren't. If there isn't a fret number, it means the chord shape can be played at any fret (movable), as no open strings are used in the voicing. That s about it. Now let s expand our chord vocabulary
The Chords 13 th Suspended 4 th Dominant 9 th A7#11 A7sus4 A9 Asus4#5add9 Aadd6 Aadd9
Aadd9 Aadd9/C# Abaug7#11 Am9 Am13 Amadd6 Amadd9 Amadd11
Amaj9 Aadd9#4 B7add11 B7add13 B9sus4 B9sus4/2 Bbadd6 Bbmaj7#11
Bm11 Bm11b5 Bm11b13 Cadd9 Cadd9#11 Cm9 Cmaj9 C#m7
C#m9 C#m9 (Var. 2) C#m13 D7sus2 D7sus13 D9 D9 (Var. 2) D9 (Var. 3)
D9sus4 Dadd4 Dadd6 Dadd9 Dadd9 (Var. 2) Dadd6/9 Dm7add11 Dmaj7
Dmaj7add6 Dmaj9 Dmaj13 Dominant 7 th Dominant 7 th (Var. 2) Dominant 7 th (Var. 3) Dominant 7 th (Var. 4) Dominant 7 th (Var. 5)
E7sus4 E9 E9sus4 Eadd9 Eadd6 Em7 Em7 (Var. 2) Em11
Emadd9 Emadd6/9 Emadd6/9 (Var.2) Emaj7 Emaj13 Emaj9 EmMaj7 Esus2#4
Fmaj7#11 FmMaj7 F#7 F#m7add11 G5#11 G7add6 Gadd6 Gadd9
Gadd9 (Var. 2) Gm11 Gmadd6 Gmadd9 Gmaj7sus2 Gmaj13 Minor 6 th Minor 11 th
Major 7 th Major 11 th Major 13 th Major Added 6 th Major Added 6 th (Var. 2) Major Added 6 th (Var. 3) Major Added 9 th Major Added 9 th (Var. 2)
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