Chord Techniques in the Style of Neil Young/Guns and Roses (Guitar Lesson)

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (0:01) Demonstration of Song: || D F | C G ||2x || G | C/G | G | C/G || F C | G | F C | G ||2x

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (0:51) Hey, it’s Will Ripley from JamPlay.com. I am really excited to show you this track, because there are all kinds of cool techniques. They are basically what we have covered so far, but with some new twists. We will show you some new chords and techniques. We will integrate some of our strumming patterns we’ve learned. Kind of a, definite, all-in-one track. We will practice some tough chord changes too, so a bunch of awesome stuff coming up in this lesson.

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (1:21) Let’s get right into it. The chords for the verse are D, F, C and G. The chord voicings are as follows (refer to the supplemental content as well):
-D: x x 0 2 3 2
-F: x x 3 2 1 1
-C: x 3 2 0 1 0
-G: 3 2 0 0 0 3

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (1:30) Let’s start with just these chords, and what we want to do first is to hold each chord for two beats and then switch (demonstration). || D (1, 2) F (1, 2) | C (1, 2) G (1, 2) ||

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (1:48) Now, before I go any further, I want to show you how to play this G chord (3 2 0 0 0 3). You can see that I am not using my first finger. This is different then I showed you how to play a G chord previously, in different ways:
-“AC/DC” G: 3 2 0 0 3 3
-“Cowboy” G: 3 2 0 0 3 3
-open 5th G: 3 x 0 0 3 3

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (2:09) This guy (referring to the “new” open G chord); is not using the 1st finger. Why is that? Well, get this…when we are going from F, C to G, check this out. If I just move these two fingers (2nd and 3rd fingers) over, I pretty much have a G chord already. Right. It actually ends up being more efficient and a little bit easier to make a G chord like so (using 3rd, 2nd & 4th fingers). As opposed to where I am at my C chord and have to twist my hand around to make this brand-new shape. So, definitely, that’s a nice chord change to make. This is the first thing I wanted you to know.

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (2:47) Let’s try this again. We are going to take each chord for two beats. So, you really have to switch those guys fast, but we’re really not worried about any strum pattern quite yet. So, we just want to go (D)…1, 2 (F)…a..1, 2 (C)…1, 2…(G)…1, 2…

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (3:05) So, let’s try this…1, 2, ready, go…(D) 1, switch…(F) 1, switch…(C) 1, switch…(G) 1, switch…(D) 1, 2…(F) 1, 2…(C) 1, 2…(G) 1, 2…So, that is something you can just work on. Just get each one of those chords nice and clear, and get those switches happening. Also, work on that new G chord (fingering).

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (3:35) So, the song sounds something like this…(demonstration of the chord progression of the second section – see video). This chord progression is: || G | C/G | G | C/G || F C | G | F C | G ||2x

Lesson 35, Scene 1: (3:51) So, what the heck is this (referring to the C/G chord)? What you’ll notice is that I have this G chord (shape) from earlier lessons. This big, resonate G. So, I am muting the A string, but I am playing my top note (in reference to the 1st string) with my pinky finger. It’s really similar to the G chord I showed you just a second ago, right? So, now, what I am going to do here, is add on this note (E – 2nd fret on the 4th string) and this note (C – 1st fret on the 2nd string) right here (see chord diagram in video). Before I confuse you too much…this is really a basic chord. What you will notice, if I take the 3rd finger off and move it over one string, it becomes our classic C chord (then played). But what we are doing is playing a “G” in the bass (see diagram). We’ve talked about this in another couple of examples.

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