Cowboy Chords

[jackstrat]

We often read about "Cowboy Chords", the open C, G, D, etc at the first position.

So what are considered the non-Cowboy Chord alternatives? Barres? Jazz Chords?

JackL

[fulano]

I assume it is anything but those first position chords.

Funny thing is, you can play a whole lot more than cowboy songs with just the basics but they tend to be labeled as such.

[Steev]

Originally Posted by jackstrat

So what are considered the non-Cowboy Chord alternatives?

Corporate CEO chords?

[Bern]

IMO, the term 'Cowboy Chords' was a creation by a knuckle head. It's a meaningless term.

[JohnZ]

Maybe I'm from a different era but cowboy chords are played like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej5O2udl2xs

[Allman_Fan]

Could it be that the non-Cowboy Chords are "Rock-n-Roll" chords? I think they use to call them that . . . wait, maybe that was just one of my synapses misfiring! I never heard the term "Cowboy Chord" until recently, but it does sound like something a condescending rocker would say, eh?

On to the chords!
E = open (low) E,
A string, second fret, index finger
D string, second fret, index finger

Now hammer on the fourth fret with . . . but you already know that.

Move everything over a string for the A chord.

So, why are they called "Barre" chords and not "Bar" chords? 'Cause it looks kinda like a Bar to me. Barre sounds like something French. I'd prefer to do something like a Cowboy than a Frenchie!

[Steve Berger]

I'm fairly certain the term originally referred to chords typically played in songs by the likes of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and other "cowboys" and it grew from there.

[daleyfolk]

Maybe a non-cowboy chord is anything that has more than a "m" or a "7" after it.
My friends call them "adult" chords, and they're afraid to try them.

[Jhengsman]

Originally Posted by Allman_Fan

Could it be that the non-Cowboy Chords are "Rock-n-Roll" chords? I think they use to call them that . . . wait, maybe that was just one of my synapses misfiring! I never heard the term "Cowboy Chord" until recently, but it does sound like something a condescending rocker would say, eh?

I would have said something a jazz snob would say myself

[Allman_Fan]

Ah, yes. Just because one condescends doesn't mean they are (REALLY) more sophisticated, just that THEY think so. (It's OK for me to bash my own kind, isn't it?)

I am interested in these "adult" chords that folks are afraid of trying. Are those the kind of chords that you slip dollar bills in between their strings?

Can a praise and worship song contain a diminshed 5th?

[vac4873]

Originally Posted by Allman_Fan

Can a praise and worship song contain a diminshed 5th?

Rather than a flippant reply, here's some fun and interesting stuff about that - sorry - tangential stuff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritone
http://deutsch.ucsd.edu/psychology/d..._research6.php

[ELK]

Originally Posted by Allman_Fan

Ah, yes. Just because one condescends doesn't mean they are (REALLY) more sophisticated, just that THEY think so. (It's OK for me to bash my own kind, isn't it?)

I am interested in these "adult" chords that folks are afraid of trying. Are those the kind of chords that you slip dollar bills in between their strings?

Can a praise and worship song contain a diminshed 5th?

You only have to slip the dollar bill under the "g" string . . .

A tri-tone in a P&W song can be removed with proper fretboard "exorcises."

[daleyfolk]

Originally Posted by ELK

You only have to slip the dollar bill under the "g" string . . .

A tri-tone in a P&W song can be removed with proper fretboard "exorcises."

oh my! ROFLOL