Chord "Deux" Jour Challenge: F#m7b5 and F#m

If you've been tuning in, you know the spiel:  Challenge! Two chords. Daily. Missed any days? Go here. Fantastic!

Each chord "map" attempts to appeal to both beginners and intermediate/advanced guitarists and keyboardists. Simple chord voicings for beginners are provided with the following finger system:

1 index finger
2 middle finger
3 ring finger
4 little finger
o play open string
x do not play open string
( bar one finger over more than one string
T that rare occasion that I recommend you use your thumb to fret a note

OK, here's an F-sharp minor (minor) 7th flattened 5th, or F#m7b5:

Guitarists, illustrated above is a simple chord shape, as simple as I can diagram, for such a gloomy chord. I suppose you can also use your little finger as a barre behind the 5th fret of the G, B, and high E strings, for a fuller sound, but that might be quite a ... stretch.

Keyboardists, mash up the F#dim and the Am chords -- F#-A-C-E.

Today's second chord is F-sharp minor, or F#m:

Guitarists, if Bm was our first proper barre chord, then F#m will be our first barre chord that uses all six strings. It's basically an Em shifted up two frets. Your index finger acts as a capo at the 2nd fret. You could also use a capo at the 2nd fret, and play F#m with the Em shape, complete with open strings. If you don't mind me trying to sell you a capo, I recommend this one by Dunlop. Without going into much detail about the ins and outs of capos, just be sure the capo matches the width (wide vs. not wide) and curvature (flat vs. not flat) of your fretboard. I've tried several capos over the years, and I've been using the Dunlop consistently for about a decade.

Keyboardists, I will not try to sell you a capo. The notes F#, A, and C# make the F#m chord.

Two more tomorrow. Cheers!

Four 7th #Chords / Four Chords with a #Capo at the 3rd Fret for #Guitar

NEW! Jam Session 211n + Bb5 Chord (Guitar)

The Chord of the Day is the Bb5 power chord for the guitar, at the 6th fret:

Chords for Jam Session 211n:  Bb5 Gb5 Eb5 Ab5



Jam Session Notes - We're playing in 6/4 time here.  So play the first set of chords Bb5 2 Gb5 4 5 6, then Eb5 2 Ab5 4 5 6.

Jon's Guitar:  Standard tuning.

     
     Bb5   Gb5             Eb5   Ab5

E  |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
B  |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
G  |---------------------|-8------------------|---------------------|
D  |-8-----4-------------|-8-----6------------|---------------------|
A  |-8-----4-------------|-6-----6------------|---------------------|
E  |-6-----2-------------|-------4------------|---------------------|

Ryan's Guitar:  Capo on 1st fret.

     
     Bb    Gb              Eb    Ab 

F  |-0-----1-------------|-2-----3------------|---------------------|
C  |-2-----1-------------|-3-----3------------|---------------------|
Ab |-2-----2-3-5-3-2h3p2-|-2-----4-5-7-5-4h5p4|---------------------|
Eb |-2-----3-------------|-0-----5------------|---------------------|
Bb |-0-----3-------------|-------5------------|---------------------|
F  |-------1-------------|-------3------------|---------------------|

Jam Session Serving Suggestions:  If you're shopping for gear, remember to shop around.  You might find a really good sale price during the most gimmicky of events (or not).




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Podcast Subscribers: If these jam session notes look jumbled, please visit http://www.chorddujour.com - Thanks!

NEW! Jam Session 211m + Bbm Chord (Guitar)

The Chord of the Day is Bbm for the guitar, as a barre chord at the 6th fret:

Chords for Jam Session 211m:  Bbm Db Gb Bbm Ab



Jam Session Notes - We apologize for publishing this Jam Session so late in the day, on this Memorial Day Monday.  We'll have the next one ready hopefully in about 12 hours!

Jon's Guitar

     
     Bbm       Db          Gb        Bbm   Ab

E  |-6---------4---------|-2---------6-----4--|---------------------|
B  |-6---------5---------|-2---------6-----4--|---------------------|
G  |-6---------6---------|-3---------6-----4--|---------------------|
D  |-8---------6---------|-4---------8-----6--|---------------------|
A  |-8---------4---------|-4---------8-----6--|---------------------|
E  |-6-------------------|-2---------6-----4--|---------------------|

Ryan's Guitar - Capo on 1st Fret

     
     Bbm       Db          Gb        Bbm   Ab

F  |-0---------0---------|-1---------0-----3--|---------------------|
C  |-1---------1---------|-1---------1-----3--|---------------------|
Ab |-2---------0---------|-2---------2-----0--|---------------------|

Eb |-2---------2---------|-3---------2-----0--|---------------------|

Bb |-0---------3---------|-3---------0-----2--|---------------------|
F  |---------------------|-----------------3--|---------------------|

Jam Session Serving Suggestions:  Using a capo can breathe life into good ol' open chord voicings, since you are changing them into different chords, with higher pitches.



Tweet to us @DeRamosMusic!

Podcast Subscribers: If these jam session notes look jumbled, please visit http://www.chorddujour.com - Thanks!

Jam Session 101l with C7sus2 Ebmaj7 Bb F; G7

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 101l:

This time, Ryan uses a capo on the third fret, so all fret numbers for this tab are relative to the capo:

C7sus2 Ebmaj7 Cm7    Eb C7sus2     Bb   F/A     G7   

g |-0---0----0----------|-0--------3---------||-0-------------------|
D |-0---0----0----------|-0--------3----3----||-0-------------------|
Bb|-0---0----0-0-----0--|-0--------0----2----||-1-------------------|
F |-2---2----2-2-----x--|-2--------0----0----||-0-------------------|
C |-000-3-0--000-3-0-3--|-000-3-0--2----x----||-2-------------------|
G |---------------------|----------3----2----||-0-------------------|

Like yesterday's Jam Session, try a C minor-flavored scale, like C blues:

    C minor pentatonic
e |---------------------|--------------------|-----11--13--15--18--|
B |---------------------|----------------11--|-13------------------|
G |---------------------|-----8--10--12------|---------------------|
D |--------------8------|-10-----------------|---------------------|
A |----6--8--10---------|--------------------|---------------------|
E |-8-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

Tweet to us @DeRamosMusic!

Podcast subscribers: If these jam session notes look jumbled, please visit http://www.chorddujour.com - Thanks!

Jam Session 101k with Cm G Bb F; Eb

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 101k:

    Cm     G              Bb    F               Eb

e |-3---3--3------------|-------1------------||-6-------------------|
B |-3h4-4--3--x--x--x-x-|-3--3--1--x--x--x-x-||-8-------------------|
G |-3h5-5--4--x--x--x-x-|-3--3--2--x--x--x-x-||-8-------------------|
D |-3h5-5--5--x--x--x-x-|-3--3--3--x--x--x-x-||-8-------------------|
A |-3---3--5--x--x--x-x-|-1--1--3--x--x--x-x-||-6-------------------|
E |--------3------------|-------1------------||---------------------|

Ryan then uses a capo on the first fret to play similar chords (fret numbers are relative to the capo):

    Cm     G              Bb    F               Eb

f |-2---2--2------------|-------0------------||-2-------------------|
C |-2h3-3--2--x--x--x-x-|-2--2--0--x--x--x-x-||-3-------------------|
Ab|-2h4-4--3--x--x--x-x-|-2--2--1--x--x--x-x-||-2-------------------|
Eb|-2h4-4--4--x--x--x-x-|-2--2--2--x--x--x-x-||-0-------------------|
Bb|-2---2--4--x--x--x-x-|-0--0--2--x--x--x-x-||---------------------|
F |--------2------------|-------0------------||---------------------|

Jon plays the C blues scale:

He also jams to the notes from the C minor pentatonic scale (above, in orange circles, and tabbed below):

    Cm
e |---------------------|--------------------|-----11--13--15--18--|
B |---------------------|----------------11--|-13------------------|
G |---------------------|-----8--10--12------|---------------------|
D |--------------8------|-10-----------------|---------------------|
A |----6--8--10---------|--------------------|---------------------|
E |-8-------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

Tweet to us @DeRamosMusic!

Podcast subscribers: If these jam session notes look jumbled, please visit http://www.chorddujour.com - Thanks!

G Major in F with Capo or Full-Step Down Tuning

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

Yesterday's last chord, capo'd at the eighth fret:

     F
c |--5--|
G |--2--|
Eb|--2--|
Bb|--2--|
F |--4--|
C |--5--|

Today, we'll play something valid either while capo'd at the 10th fret or with no capo but tuned down to (from low to high) D G C F A D:

    F
d |-3-------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|
A |-0-------------|---------------|---------------|------------0--|
F |-0-------------|---------------|------------0--|---0-2--0-2----|
C |-0-------------|-----0----0-2--|-0-2-4--2-4----|-4-------------|
G |-2-0-2--0-2-3--|-2-3----3------|---------------|---------------|
D |-3-------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|

                                           F        Bb     F
d |---------------|-----0----0-2--|-0-2-3--3------|-3------3------|
A |---0-1--0-1-3--|-1-3----3------|--------3------|-5------3------|
F |-2-------------|---------------|--------0------|-5------4------|
C |---------------|---------------|--------0------|-5------5------|
G |---------------|---------------|--------2------|-3------5------|
D |---------------|---------------|--------3------|(3)-----3------|

A Major in F with Capo

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

Yesterday's last chord, capo'd at the fifth fret:

     F
a |--3--|
E |--5--|
C |--5--|
G |--5--|
D |--3--|
A |-(3)-|

Let's capo the eighth fret, play the F major chord, go through a neat-sounding ascending F major pentatonic scale, and preview tomorrow's F chord (sans capo):

    F
c |-0-------------|---------------|---------------|------------2--|
G |-2-------------|---------------|------------2--|---2-5--2-5----|
Eb|-2-------------|------------2--|---2-4--2-4----|-4-------------|
Bb|-2----------2--|---2-4--2-4----|-4-------------|---------------|
F |-0-2-4--2-4----|-4-------------|---------------|---------------|
C |(0)------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|

c |---2-5--5------|
G |-5------2------|
Eb|--------2------|
Bb|--------2------|
F |--------4------|
C |--------5------|

C Major in F with Capo

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

Yesterday's last chord, capo'd at the third fret:

     F
g |--2-----------------------|
D |--3-----------------------|
Bb|--2-----------------------|
F |--4-----------------------|
C |--5-----------------------|
G |--------------------------|

Let's capo the fifth fret:

     F  Gm Am Bb C  Dm Edim     F
a |--0--1--0--1--3--0--------|--3--|
E |--1--3--0--1--3--1--3-----|--5--|
C |--0--2--0--2--0--2--4-----|--5--|
G |--2--0--2--3--0--2--3-----|--5--|
D |--3-(0)-2--3--2--0--2-----|--3--|
A |-(3)----0--1--3-(0)-------|-(3)-|

D Major in F with Capo

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

Do you remember the last chord shape from yesterday's lesson (in bold), with the capo on the first fret?

     F
f |--0-----------------------|--0--------------------4--|
C |--0-----------------------|-----4--2--0-----------5--|
Ab|--1-----------------------|--------------2--1-----4--|
Eb|--2-----------------1--2--|--------------------4--2--|
Bb|--2--------0--2--4--------|--------------------------|
F |--0--2--4-----------------|--------------------------|

If we remove the capo, it would be tabbed like this:

     F
e |--5--|
B |--6--|
G |--5--|
D |--3--|
A |-----|
E |-----|

And if we capo the third fret:

     F
g |--2--2--2-----------2--2--|--2-----------------------|
D |--3--3--3--3--3--3--2--3--|--3-----------------------|
Bb|--2--X--2--0--2--4--------|--2-----------------------|
F |--0--2--4-----------------|--4-----------------------|
C |--------------------------|--5-----------------------|
G |--------------------------|--------------------------|

E Major in F with Capo

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

We'll use a capo on the first fret with typical Key of E open chords, letting us play in F. Notice that compared to standard E A D G B E tuning, our capo'd tuning sounds a bit "brighter," just as tuning the guitar down to Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb sort of makes open chords sound "darker":

     F
f |--0-----------------------|--0--------------------4--|
C |--0-----------------------|-----4--2--0-----------5--|
Ab|--1-----------------------|--------------2--1-----4--|
Eb|--2-----------------1--2--|--------------------4--2--|
Bb|--2--------0--2--4--------|--------------------------|
F |--0--2--4-----------------|--------------------------|

A Groove in Bb with Capo, 6/8

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

We're going to play a similar progression like yesterday's lesson, but in standard tuning (from low to high: E A D G B E, with a capo on the first fret (F Bb Eb Ab C F). The tab numbers are relative to the capo. This one is more or less in 6/8 time:

      Bbsus4
f |------------0--0--0--|------------0--0--0--|
C |------------3--3--3--|------------3--3--3--|
Ab|-0h2--2--2--2--2--2--|-0h2--2--2--2--2--2--|
Eb|---2--2--2--2--2--2--|---2--2--2--2--2--2--|
Bb|---0--0--0--0--0--0--|---0--0--0--0--0--0--|
F |---------------------|---------------------|

      Fsus4       F         Ebsus2    Eb
f |------------0--0--0--|---0--0--0-h2--2--2--|
C |------------0--0--0--|---3--3--3--3--3--3--|
Ab|------------2--1--1--|-1/2--2--2--2--2--2--|
Eb|-0h2--2--2--2--2--2--|---0--0--0--0--0--0--|
Bb|---2--2--2--2--2--2--|---------------------|
F |---0--0--0--0--0--0--|---------------------|

Variation in G# with a Capo

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

We're essentially the same I IV V chords in Ab, but with a capo on the first fret. We're using the G, Cadd9, and D chord shapes (with a capo on the first fret, those chords are a half-step higher). So to try to make it easier to remember which chords you're playing, we're treating this key in G#. All finger positions in the tablature below are relative to the capo, i.e. and 0 = capo on the first fret, 1 = second fret, 2 = 3rd fret, etc. We're dealing with open chords, so feel free to be looser, strummy, and not precise to the written tablature:

    G#
e|--------3--------------3--|--------3-----------3-----|
B|--------3--------------3--|--------3-----------3-----|
G|--------0--------------0--|--------0-----------0-----|
D|--------0-----------0-----|--------0--------------0--|
A|--------2-----------2-----|--------2--------------2--|
E|--3--3--3-----3--3--3-----|--3--3--3-----3--3-----3--|

    C#add9                     D#sus2      D#sus4   D#
e|--------3--------------3--|--------0-----------3--2--|
B|--------3--------------3--|--------3-----------3--3--|
G|--------0-----------0--0--|--------2-----------2--2--|
D|--------2-----------2-----|--0--0--0-----0--0--0--0--|
A|--3--3--3-----3--3--3-----|--------------------------|
E|--------------------------|--------------------------|

More Thin String Ring

If you don't know how to read guitar tab (as computer text), this section of a Wikipedia article may help.

We're going to breathe some life into the generic G-D-Em-C progression this time. These open voicings sound "punchier" when combined with a capo higher up the neck (but that is subjective):

   G6 D6sus2/F# Em7 Cmaj7/G
e|--0----0-------0----0--
B|--0----0-------0----0--
G|--0----2-------0----0--
D|--0----0-------0----2--
A|--2----0-------2----3--
E|--3----2-------0----3--

Inexpensive Guitar Accessories: Capo and Slide

You might find these accessories useful on your journey as a guitar player (and possibly also useful for players of other stringed and fretted instruments):

Capo. Shift the nut up to almost any fret. Capo the third fret and turn an open D chord shape into an open F chord. Low quality capos are less than $4 and premium quality ones (without being ridiculously expensive) are about $20. The capo actually shortens the string length from the capo (acting as the nut) to the bridge, changing the locations of various harmonics, and thus affecting the tonal quality of your guitar.

Slide. Easy to play and make noise immediately, but tricky to master. Slide playing is basically its own branch of instrumentation. They are usually available as glass slides and metal slides (around $5 to $10 is a decent price range, but they can reach upwards of $30 or so for more specialized models). Other materials are available commercially, or whatever cylinder you can find can suffice. The material affects your tone.

There you have it: Two relatively inexpensive ways, like pick selection, to tweak your tone and technique.

Lesson #72: F Minor and the Capo / Barre (Guitar, Beginner)

You probably already know how to play this voicing for the F minor chord:


It is basically using your index finger as a barre across the 4th fret, and essentially the same as using a capo at the 1st fret and playing the basic Em chord:


Try either placing a capo on or using your index finger to barre the 8th fret and play the Am chord:


If you capo or barre at the 3rd fret and play the Dm chord, you're actually playing the Fm chord:

Lesson #71: F and the Capo / Barre (Guitar, Beginner, Intermediate)

In standard tuning, this is one form of the F major chord:

If you use a capo (for beginners) or barre (for intermediate players) your index finger at the 5th fret, you can play the F with the regular C chord fingering:


Capo or barre at the 8th fret and finger the A chord:


Capo or barre at the 10th fret and finger the G chord:


Capo or barre at the 1st or 13th fret and finger the E chord:


Capo or barre at the 3rd or 15th fret and finger the D chord:

Lesson #65: Bb Minor and the Capo / Barre (Guitar, Beginner)

You probably already know how to play this voicing for the B-flat minor chord:


It is essentially using your index finger as a barre across the 1st fret, or using a capo at the 1st fret and playing the basic Am chord:


Try either placing a capo on or using your index finger to barre the 6th fret and play the Em chord:


If you capo or barre at the 9th fret and play the Dm chord, you're actually playing the Bbm chord:

Lesson #64: Bb and the Capo / Barre (Guitar, Beginner, Intermediate)

In standard tuning, this is one form of the B-flat major chord:

If you use a capo (for beginners) or barre (for intermediate players) your index finger at the 10th fret, you can play the Bb with the regular C chord fingering:


Capo or barre at the 1st fret and finger the A chord:


Capo or barre at the 3rd fret and finger the G chord:


Capo or barre at the 6th fret and finger the E chord:


Capo or barre at the 8th fret and finger the D chord:

Lesson #58: Eb Minor and the Capo / Barre (Guitar, Beginner)

You probably already know how to play this voicing for the E-flat minor chord:

You can use your index finger as a barre across the 6th fret, or use a capo at the 6th fret and playing the basic Am chord:


Try either placing a capo on or using your index finger to barre the 11th fret and play the Em chord:


If you capo or barre at the 1st or 13th fret and play the Dm chord, you're actually playing the Ebm chord: