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  #1  
Old 06-09-2018, 08:46 AM
Beakybird Beakybird is offline
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Default Playing cowboy chords anywhere on the neck

A lot of guitarists love to play the great sounding cowboy chords when their fingers are at the nut, but when playing higher up the neck - if we're playing fully fretted chords, we play only the cowboy chords that look like a raised E or Em or an A or Am.

Many guitarists don't play fully fretted chords that look like the raised G, D, Dm, D7 or the raised C or a raised B7.

I thought it was impossible to raise that B7 chord in the same shape. But then I said, "Hey use your thumb!" My fingers are smaller than an average male and my neck is bigger than the average neck. I'm not double jointed. If I can do it, you can probably too. Here's what I do on the 4th fret for an Eb7 that has that cowboy B7 color:

6 6 5 6 4 6. Wrap that thumb around, shift it a little, and fret the E and A. If it feels uncomfortable, give it some time.

I often find that when I play a D shaped chord higher up, it sounds a little bit like I'm playing with a capo. I can bar up to the 6th string for this G#:

X 6 6 8 9 8 or G#m X 6 6 8 9 7
Or with some D style chords, I can make the bass with my thumb on the E string:

G#7/B#: 8 X 6 8 7 8
G#m/B: 7 X 6 8 9 7
Here's G#add9/C making the bass with the middle finger: 8 X 6 8 9 6

I haven't been able to figure out a way to raise the C7 shape, but I often play C raised up:

Here's Eb in a C shape: X 6 5 3 4 3. You bar the 3rd string with your index finger.
Here's Ebadd9: X 6 5 3 6 3 or
X 6 5 3 6 6 (you do this by baring the high E and B with your pinky). The cool thing about this is that you can also get a Ebmadd9: X 6 4 3 6 6, and you can get this cool shape anywhere on the neck.

If you practice, you can get that raised G. Here's a Db: 9 8 6 6 6 9. You can then do this shape anywhere. Here's a beautiful Dbadd9: 9 X 6 8 6 9.
If you do a Db7: 9 8 6 6 6 7, or Db6: 9 8 6 6 6 6 you can easily switch your middle and index fingers to get a F#/Db: 9 X 8 6 7 6, and you can alternate back and forth, and you can make it sound like you're playing with a capo anywhere on the neck.

If you have any tips for playing cowboy chords further up the neck, I'd love to learn.
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Last edited by Beakybird; 06-09-2018 at 09:43 AM.
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  #2  
Old 06-09-2018, 09:32 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
A lot of guitarists love to play the great sounding cowboy chords when their fingers are at the nut, but when playing higher up the neck - if we're playing fully fretted chords, we play only the cowboy chords that look like a raised E or Em or an A or Am.

Many guitarists don't play fully fretted chords that look like the raised G, D, Dm, D7 or the raised C or a raised B7.
Check the CAGED system. based on movable versions of the C G and D shapes as well as the A and E.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
I thought it was impossible to raise that B7 chord in the same shape. But then I said, "Hey use your thumb!" My fingers are smaller than an average male and my neck is bigger than the average neck. I'm not double jointed. If I can do it, you can probably too. Here's what I do on the 4th fret for an Eb7 that has that cowboy B7 color:

6 6 5 6 4 6. Wrap that thumb around, shift it a little, and fret the E and A. If it feels uncomfortable, give it some time.
I just use the middle 4 in a C7 shape for that chord: x 6 5 6 4 x. You don't need the 5th of the chord. This was one of the Beatles favourite shapes (x-7-6-7-5-x for I Saw Her Standing There).
Yours makes an interesting fuller alternative though.
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Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
Or with some D style chords, I can make the bass with my thumb on the E string:

G#7/C: 8 X 6 8 7 8
G#m/B: 7 X 6 8 9 7
Strictly speaking, the first one is Ab7/C or G#7/B#.

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Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
Here's G#add9/C making the bass with the index finger: 8 X 6 8 9 6
Sure you don't mean ring finger on the bass?
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Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
I haven't been able to figure out a way to raise the C7 shape
See above. The 5th-less shape is easy, common and useful.
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Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
, but I often play C raised up:

Here's Eb in a C shape: X 6 5 3 4 3. You bar the 3rd string with your index finger.
Here's Ebadd9: X 6 5 3 6 3 or
X 6 5 3 6 6 (you do this by baring the high E and B with your pinky). The cool thing about this is that you can also get a Ebmadd9: X 6 4 3 6 6, and you can get this cool shape anywhere on the neck.
You don't need the 1st string for any of those, which makes some of then easier.
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Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
If you practice, you can get that raised G.
Yes, I use this shape quite often. Not always in full. 8-x-5-5-5-x (pinky and index) makes a great shape for Keef-style chord riffs without having to tune to open G, using middle and ring to add the passing "C" shape (8-x-7-5-6-x).
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  #3  
Old 06-09-2018, 09:38 AM
Beakybird Beakybird is offline
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Check the CAGED system. based on movable versions of the C G and D shapes as well as the A and E.
I just use the middle 4 in a C7 shape for that chord: x 6 5 6 4 x. You don't need the 5th of the chord. This was one of the Beatles favourite shapes (x-7-6-7-5-x for I Saw Her Standing There).
Yours makes an interesting fuller alternative though.
Strictly speaking, the first one is Ab7/C or G#7/B#.

Sure you don't mean ring finger on the bass?
See above. The 5th-less shape is easy, common and useful.
You don't need the 1st string for any of those, which makes some of then easier.
Yes, I use this shape quite often. Not always in full. 8-x-5-5-5-x (pinky and index) makes a great shape for Keef-style chord riffs without having to tune to open G, using middle and ring to add the passing "C" shape (8-x-7-5-6-x).
Thanks so much for corrections. I will edit.
And yes, I often skip strings for the chords, but I was discussing getting that full cowboy chord sound higher up.
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  #4  
Old 06-09-2018, 10:16 AM
Beakybird Beakybird is offline
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Thanks so much for corrections. I will edit.
And yes, I often skip strings for the chords, but I was discussing getting that full cowboy chord sound higher up.
If you have any ideas about hammer ons and pull-offs that you can do anywhere on the fretboard, that would help me.

And again, you don't NEED to play the E string on those C shaped chords, but often, it sounds nicer and fuller. Sometimes, however, simple is not only easier, but better sounding.
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  #5  
Old 06-09-2018, 02:20 PM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
Thanks so much for corrections. I will edit.
And yes, I often skip strings for the chords, but I was discussing getting that full cowboy chord sound higher up.
Right. Personally I rarely have any need for that.
The whole issue with the cowboy chords is "hey we got 6 strings, better fill em all up - easier than muting them". Notes are doubled up not because they need to be, but because it's easier to make the shape - it's a kind of belt-and-braces attitude to chord voicing. "OK, the G chord shape has 3 G's in it, but let's throw em all in there, just in case."
And actually, spreading chords across all 6 (or 5 at least) does make for smooth voice-leading transitions if you stay in that position. So the cowboy chord system is a kind of win-win.

But once you move up the fretboard - liberating yourself from open position - you realise that you can make do with fewer strings per chord (saves most of those barres too!), and you start to understand how progressions work. IOW, sequences worked automatically with those open cowboy chords, you didn't have to know how. Once you know how, you can start editing your chords.

I'm not saying the full shapes you're outlining are not good to know - they are. But you also need to know which note is which in each shape, because now you have to fret them all (no open strings to help) you might want to know which ones are the important ones - which might change for different applications.

You never need all 6 strings for any chord. (There are some rare chords that have 6 different notes, but typically they're not in any easily payable order - or good sounding shape - on the guitar.) Jazz musicians almost never play all 6 strings, and they know way more chords than you or I.
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  #6  
Old 06-09-2018, 02:25 PM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Originally Posted by Beakybird View Post
If you have any ideas about hammer ons and pull-offs that you can do anywhere on the fretboard, that would help me.
The only chordal hammer-on I'd do (that I can think of) is that Keef-cheat G shape, with the possible hammer-on on strings 4-2.


Otherwise, hammer-ons for me are single string things, the same anywhere on the fretboard - ie. part of solo lines, not chords (excepting Hendrix-style double-stops, which I think of as based around chord shapes, but don't require the actual playing of the chord).



Sometimes partial versions of those chords offer hammer-on or pull-off opportunities - you need a spare finger naturally, which is the problem!
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Old 06-09-2018, 03:40 PM
Beakybird Beakybird is offline
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Absolutely! It depends on whether I'm playing a song, comping, or fingerpicking arpeggios or playing an instrumental, in which case, I might want to have the full chord handy. A capo can also make bar chords unnecessary. If you're in the right key, there are great open string chords that are optimal. But if I'm playing full chords in a song, and the song takes me to C#add9, I want to play a full beautiful chord, and not always the obvious choice.
My path might be a dead end for someone on a different musical journey.
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