MadMattUK
10-01-2004, 10:11 PM
The Ocatve Chord
Introduction
Hello ladies and gentlemen of cyberfret.com,
Here’s my first lesson (of hopefully many)! This lesson will NOT focus too much on theory or technique exercises, but on a neat little ‘trick’ that you might not be aware of. Many of you probably will be aware of this ‘trick’ but might not realise its musical potential on the guitar. This trick I refer to is what I call the octave chord. Many others call it the octave chord too, but I’m not sure if this is the correct theoretical term to be applied.
Definition
Let’s not get bogged down by formalities though. My definition of the octave chord is chord consisting only of root notes and their octaves. For example, an E octave chord would consist only of E notes, all an octave apart from one another.
In this lesson we will study 2 and 3 note octave chords. Below are the two common shapes we will touch upon.
Fingerings
e-----x--------x----------------x---------------x--------------
B-----5--------8----------------x---------------x-------------
G-----x--------x----------------5---------------9------------
D-----2--------5----------------x---------------x------------
A-------------------------------3---------------7-------------
E-----------------------------------------------0--------------
The first example is the E octave
The second example is the G octave
The third example is the C octave
The final example is the E octave, this time playing 3 notes with the open E string providing extra bass to the chord.
String Muting
The x’s on the TAB means these particular strings should be muted. I use my first finger to fret the root and the pinky to fret the octave, ensuring the underside of each finger is muting all the unused strings. They key to playing the octave chord well is the muting, as unwanted open string noise will cause the chord to lose its musical punch. Here is a video clip showing the muting and the fingering:
https://filebox.vt.edu/users/lau02141/Public%20Access/MadMattUK/Octave%20Chord-%20Fingering.wmv
Notice how the muting at first was fairly poor, and there was harmonics sounding on the unused string? Try nail it so the strings are dead, difficult to do on high gain distortion!!
Musical Context
Now that we’ve established what the octave chord is lets see how what we can do with it. The octave chord can be used to spice up rhythm guitar or lead guitar. Any where there is a melodic run (single notes one after the other), the octave chord can be used to replace each note. This can make the dullest of melodies come to life, especially when combined with a bass drone note in the same key.
Example 1
Here is an example of a single note melody I came up with in the key of D major:
e --------------------------------------------------------------------------
B --------------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---9-/s-7---7---7-/s-10---10---10---10-----7-/s-5----5---5-/s--9---9---9----9--
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------
e --------------------------------------------------------------------------
B --------------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----9-/s-7----7---7-/s-10---10---10---10----5-/s-4---4---4-/s--7---7---7--5-
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We can transform this melody into an ‘octave chord’ progression. It becomes basically the same melody but harmonised with the octave above.
e ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----11-/s-9----9----9-/s-12---12-----12-------12---------9-/s-7---7--7-/s--11---11----11----11------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----9-/s-7----7----7-/s-10----10-----10------10----------7-/s-5---5---5-/s--9---9----9-----9----------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
e ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G----11-/s-9-----9---9-/s-12----12-----12------12---------7-/s-6---6---6-/s--9---9----9----7---------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----9-/s-7----7-----7-/s-10----10-----10------10---------5-/s-4---4---4-/s--7---7----7----5----------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding a bass drone to this melody will make things even more groovey. I added the drop D open string drone, because its in the key of D major to produce:
e -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---11---9-----9----9-/s-12-----12----12------12-----------9-/s-7----7--7-/s--11---11--11---11------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---9-/s-7----7-----7-/s-10-----10-----10-----10-----------7-/s-5----5--5-/s--9----9---9----9----------
D---0----0----0-----0----0-------0-----0------0------------0----0----0--0-----0----0---0----0-------
Here is the video clip of this process:
https://filebox.vt.edu/users/lau02141/Public%20Access/MadMattUK/Melody%201.wmv
Please note that the TAB is not identical to what I played in the video, the TAB just helps you get the idea of what the melodic boosting process is about. Come up with your own melodies and use the octave chord to play them instead.
Example 2
Here is another example with a slight middle eastern feel:
https://filebox.vt.edu/users/lau02141/Public%20Access/MadMattUK/Octave%20Chord%20-%20Melody%202.wmv
Conclusion
A really simple idea, but one that can yield powerful effects!
MMUK
(please private message me if you have any queries, or if you spot glaring errors in my lesson!! I could do with requests and ideas for future lessons too......)
Introduction
Hello ladies and gentlemen of cyberfret.com,
Here’s my first lesson (of hopefully many)! This lesson will NOT focus too much on theory or technique exercises, but on a neat little ‘trick’ that you might not be aware of. Many of you probably will be aware of this ‘trick’ but might not realise its musical potential on the guitar. This trick I refer to is what I call the octave chord. Many others call it the octave chord too, but I’m not sure if this is the correct theoretical term to be applied.
Definition
Let’s not get bogged down by formalities though. My definition of the octave chord is chord consisting only of root notes and their octaves. For example, an E octave chord would consist only of E notes, all an octave apart from one another.
In this lesson we will study 2 and 3 note octave chords. Below are the two common shapes we will touch upon.
Fingerings
e-----x--------x----------------x---------------x--------------
B-----5--------8----------------x---------------x-------------
G-----x--------x----------------5---------------9------------
D-----2--------5----------------x---------------x------------
A-------------------------------3---------------7-------------
E-----------------------------------------------0--------------
The first example is the E octave
The second example is the G octave
The third example is the C octave
The final example is the E octave, this time playing 3 notes with the open E string providing extra bass to the chord.
String Muting
The x’s on the TAB means these particular strings should be muted. I use my first finger to fret the root and the pinky to fret the octave, ensuring the underside of each finger is muting all the unused strings. They key to playing the octave chord well is the muting, as unwanted open string noise will cause the chord to lose its musical punch. Here is a video clip showing the muting and the fingering:
https://filebox.vt.edu/users/lau02141/Public%20Access/MadMattUK/Octave%20Chord-%20Fingering.wmv
Notice how the muting at first was fairly poor, and there was harmonics sounding on the unused string? Try nail it so the strings are dead, difficult to do on high gain distortion!!
Musical Context
Now that we’ve established what the octave chord is lets see how what we can do with it. The octave chord can be used to spice up rhythm guitar or lead guitar. Any where there is a melodic run (single notes one after the other), the octave chord can be used to replace each note. This can make the dullest of melodies come to life, especially when combined with a bass drone note in the same key.
Example 1
Here is an example of a single note melody I came up with in the key of D major:
e --------------------------------------------------------------------------
B --------------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---9-/s-7---7---7-/s-10---10---10---10-----7-/s-5----5---5-/s--9---9---9----9--
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------
e --------------------------------------------------------------------------
B --------------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----9-/s-7----7---7-/s-10---10---10---10----5-/s-4---4---4-/s--7---7---7--5-
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We can transform this melody into an ‘octave chord’ progression. It becomes basically the same melody but harmonised with the octave above.
e ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----11-/s-9----9----9-/s-12---12-----12-------12---------9-/s-7---7--7-/s--11---11----11----11------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----9-/s-7----7----7-/s-10----10-----10------10----------7-/s-5---5---5-/s--9---9----9-----9----------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
e ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G----11-/s-9-----9---9-/s-12----12-----12------12---------7-/s-6---6---6-/s--9---9----9----7---------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----9-/s-7----7-----7-/s-10----10-----10------10---------5-/s-4---4---4-/s--7---7----7----5----------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding a bass drone to this melody will make things even more groovey. I added the drop D open string drone, because its in the key of D major to produce:
e -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G---11---9-----9----9-/s-12-----12----12------12-----------9-/s-7----7--7-/s--11---11--11---11------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A---9-/s-7----7-----7-/s-10-----10-----10-----10-----------7-/s-5----5--5-/s--9----9---9----9----------
D---0----0----0-----0----0-------0-----0------0------------0----0----0--0-----0----0---0----0-------
Here is the video clip of this process:
https://filebox.vt.edu/users/lau02141/Public%20Access/MadMattUK/Melody%201.wmv
Please note that the TAB is not identical to what I played in the video, the TAB just helps you get the idea of what the melodic boosting process is about. Come up with your own melodies and use the octave chord to play them instead.
Example 2
Here is another example with a slight middle eastern feel:
https://filebox.vt.edu/users/lau02141/Public%20Access/MadMattUK/Octave%20Chord%20-%20Melody%202.wmv
Conclusion
A really simple idea, but one that can yield powerful effects!
MMUK
(please private message me if you have any queries, or if you spot glaring errors in my lesson!! I could do with requests and ideas for future lessons too......)