Pedalboard Photo Contest!

1 369 More

Rattlesnake Cable Company / Heather Brown Electronicals Combined Give Away

268 More

Guest Post – Revisiting the Boss GT-8 and Line 6 POD X3 Live by Dean Hailstone

577 More

Pedal Labels are BACK!

1,322 More

Effects Bay

  • About
  • Contact
  • Guest Posting
  • Pedal Deals
  • Pedal Line Friday
Home 2010 January Rethinking Guitar – Fuller Sounds Done Simply – Guest Post

Rethinking Guitar – Fuller Sounds Done Simply – Guest Post

The following is a guest post by Kevin Ian Common. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Growing up a guitar player was tough in the early years. I picked up a guitar a few years later than many of my friends, so when I tried out for bands, most of my friends in bands already had guitarists. This prompted me to think differently about playing guitar and how to play the guitar.

While most of these techniques are tried, true, and probably printed in many magazines before me, chances are you might have a small flash of inspiration. Maybe I will mention something you’ve never thought about. It’s also come to my attention–being in various bands in various cities for the past 10 years–that many bands have guitarists who simply strum power chords or basic open-position chords. Even the simplest variation can make a two-guitar texture sound full, or even a single guitar part sound distinctive.

Hopefully I will be able to continue this series which will include techniques, tricks, tips, and even ideas concerning effects pedals.

Let’s get on with it, shall we?

We’ll start with chords. Chords are the building blocks of any great song. Let’s take a simple progression:

A     D     E     A

You already have the building blocks of a great song. A typical guitarist would simply strum open position chords and call it a day. Let’s look at some alternative ways to play these three chords.

The following charts will be from left to right: E A D G B E

A:

X 0 2 2 2 5     X 0 7 6 5 0     X 0 11 9 10 0     X 0 7 9 10 0     X X X 9 10 9

D:

X 0 0 2 3 5     X 0 0 7 7 5      X X 0 11 10 X     X 0 7 7 10 X     X X 7 7 7 10

E:

0 2 2 4 5 X     X X 6 4 5 0     X X 9 9 12 X      0 7 9 9 0 0     X X X 9 9 7

If you have two guitarists, try having one play the open chord positions and have another play one of these alternatives. You notice that the sound is fuller because different positions/octaves now have a voice in the overall texture. Also, if you are a single guitarist, 9 times out of 10 you have a bassist in the band, why not play an alternate voicing of chords and let the bass form the foundation? Even if the bassist is walking, you will create interesting harmonic movement while keeping everything simple.

Also, try these:

Another easy way to thicken a double-guitar texture is adding a capo to the proceedings. With a capo at the 2nd fret, A D E becomes G C D. At the 7th fret, A D E becomes D G A.

Try playing A D E octaves while letting the high B and E strings ring.

Have one guitarist isolate the third of each chord (A D E is C# F# G#) and play them in octaves. This is a popular technique in modern rock music, but that is because it’s very effective at achieving fuller sounds.

Better yet, for more linear harmonic motion, have a guitarist play E F# E over A D E ( the 5th of A, 3rd of D, Root of E) or C# D B over A D E (the 3rd of A, root of D, 5th of E) for even more interesting results.

Have one guitar distorted and one clean. Japanese rock band Luna Sea used this technique to great effect. You can find various videos on YouTube.

I hope you have found this interesting!

– Kevin Ian Common

The Common Men
www.myspace.com/thecommonmen

Jan 19, 2010admin

Related posts:

My thoughts about “It Might Get Loud” Default ThumbnailBurning Building Guitar Default ThumbnailBoss DD-20 Giga Delay Review Default ThumbnailBasement vs. Reality
PH-3 Phase Shifter - Guest ReviewEarn Up to a $200 Gift Coupon at MusiciansFriend.com
Comments: 4
  1. Russ B
    13 years ago

    Great post! As a single guitarist who mostly just works on recording projects, I’m always trying to think of ways to thicken up the parts to enhance the song. Good ideas!

    ReplyCancel
  2. thomas4th
    13 years ago

    Excellent post! As I understand, AC/DC uses much of this (differing chord forms/inversions and different levels of distortion) to get those massive-sounding chords they’re rightly famous for. Good to have it broken down and explained.

    ReplyCancel
  3. Raul Riera
    12 years ago

    Luna Sea rocks!!! Great post.

    ReplyCancel
  4. j. reeves
    12 years ago

    Thanks for posting this up here, this is exactly what I was looking for. Keep up the great work and god bless you.yes luna does rock!

    ReplyCancel

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

admin
13 years ago 4 Comments Miscellaneousguest post, guitar, kevin ian common, technique, theory391
Sponsors
Advertise on EffectsBay.com!
Amazon Associates Disclosure

EffectsBay.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Please view Affiliations below for additional information about links.

Pages
  • About
  • Contact
  • Guest Posting
  • Pedal Deals
  • Pedal Line Friday
  • Privacy Policy
Recent Posts
  • Pedalboard Photo Contest!
  • Rattlesnake Cable Company / Heather Brown Electronicals Combined Give Away
  • Guest Post – Revisiting the Boss GT-8 and Line 6 POD X3 Live by Dean Hailstone
  • Pedal Labels are BACK!
  • Pedal Line Friday – 2/12 – Joe Perkins
Archives
DIY / MIY
  • Beavis Audio
  • Build Your Own Clone
  • Cubist Effects
  • DIY Stompboxes
  • Effects Connection
  • General Guitar Gadgets
  • Guitar PCB
  • Mad Bean Pedals
  • Mod Kits DIY
  • Officially Licensed Circuits
  • Pedal Enclosures
  • Pedal Parts Plus
  • Small Bear Electronics
  • Stomp That Box
  • Tone Clone Pedals
Guest Posters
  • Andrew Elmore
  • Bobby Morelli – Drew Street Mary
  • Brian Porter – Porter Pickups
  • Christian Moraga
  • Danny Dyson
  • George DesRoches – The Random Band
  • Giovanni Lanese – Glitterball Band
  • I Hate Barre Chords
  • Kevin Ian Common – The Common Men
  • Lee Chavez
  • Mark Grundhoefer
  • Matthew Cheezem
  • Nick Georgiou
  • Norman Harris
  • Worship Rocker (Donny)
Sites
  • 22 frets
  • Dy-sphoric
  • Guitar Jar
  • Guitar4Free
  • I Heart Guitar
  • Louder Than Quiet
  • LP Stop (Les Pauls)
  • Never Too Late Guitar
  • Pedal Nerd
  • Stomp That Box
  • VintageandRare.com
  • What's That Dude Play?
Affiliations

Effectsbay.com is affiliated with the following business:
Musician’s Friend
Guitar Center
Amazon
Google
Rattlesnake Cable Co.
Pedal Labels

This means that some links will go to their website and EffectsBay.com can potentially receive a commission for items purchased there. Or in the case of Rattlesnake Cable Company and Pedal Labels, they are owned by the owner of Effects Bay.

We will also disclose if reviewed products were kept when sent by the manufacturer to us for review.

Search
Contact

Hank c/o EffectsBay
P.O. Box 2364
Missoula, MT
59806

Privacy Policy

Advertisement
Interested in advertising on the site or submitting products for review and/or giveaways? Send me a message!
Newsletter

2017 © Effects Bay