(almost?) Impossible chord

[Gtrfinger]

Came across this chord in an arrangement of Chopin's prelude no 4 :

little finger on 1st string 7th fret (B)
middle finger on 3rd string 5th fret (c)
first finger on 4th string 4th fret (F#)
and then...ring finger 5th string 7th fret (E)

its the ring finger positioning which is causing the problem. can't finger it without catching on the 4th string.

Try it. Any thoughts?

What other chords have you come across that are so fiendish they make u want to give up on the whole piece?

[mr. beaumont]

I've encountered that shape before...nasty, for sure. Try classical position, but I'd be tempted just to use the low E instead of the seventh fretter...

you could also grab the same note cluster like this: 12 10 9 x 12 x

which is a little less of a stretch in the higher register.

[Minotaur]

I'm not familiar with the piece, but given the times it was written in, I'd guess it was written for a keyboard or a string ensemble. Chopin's Prelude in C Minor Opus 21 is the basis for Could It Be Magic by Barry Manilow which he plays primarily on piano. There are some really hinky chords and chord changes in there that I know I have to drop or change to play it on guitar.

If a piece is written for a keyboard, it's not always easy to translate it to guitar note for note, chord for chord. As my last teacher said, keyboardists have 10 fingers with which to form chords. We (guitarists and bassists) only have 4; maybe 5 if you use your thumb in a wrap-around.

So don't feel badly about it. Sometimes you do have to substitute something that is almost impossible to play on guitar because it was written for a keyboard. This is something I'm learning with reluctance.

[rick-slo]

Alter it to make it doable. Leave out the lower E or try another position, perhaps X-9-10-9-X-7.

[Gtrfinger]

I'm presuming that it IS playable. piece arranged by Christian Rocheleau. Found it on free scores.com. So presumably he can play it. ?

It's a piece I've always wanted to play ever since hearing Jimmy Page play it, (tho he was only playing melody line on electric). Beautiful haunting tune.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Gtrfinger

I'm presuming that it IS playable. piece arranged by Christian Rocheleau. Found it on free scores.com. So presumably he can play it. ?

It's a piece I've always wanted to play ever since hearing Jimmy Page play it, (tho he was only playing melody line on electric). Beautiful haunting tune.

Not sure it is reasonably playable. The "transcription" is a note for note match for the piano score, at least in the first few measures I looked at. I could not find anything about him as a guitarist or a clip playing the guitar. Most reasonable on this particular piece is playing it in a different key and/or tuning.
For example this example I came across.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1NvS...eature=related

[Gtrfinger]

Thanks Rick, that's very interesting. If the piece as fingered is not playable in its context then it raises questions as to his intentions on posting it/publishing it or whatever.

There's an email on the score. I'll write and maybe update this thread.