Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/guitar-chords
Are you a guitarist who has mastered the basic open and movable chord shapes but feels ready to explore new sonic territories? Then ‘Guitar Chord Voicings: Playing Up The Neck’ on Coursera might just be the course you’ve been searching for. This comprehensive course is designed to elevate your understanding and application of chords, moving beyond the familiar and into a richer harmonic landscape.
The course begins by demystifying triad inversions. While the concept can be tricky on the guitar due to the instrument’s unique fretboard layout, the instructor does an excellent job of breaking it down. You’ll learn to construct and play these inversions, starting from the higher strings and moving up the neck, making the abstract tangible and practical. This foundational knowledge is crucial for unlocking a wider range of voicings.
Next, the course tackles barre and power chords, staples of rock and pop music. While they might challenge your fretting hand initially, the course provides effective exercises to build the dexterity and command needed to master these essential shapes. The payoff in terms of musical vocabulary is immense.
A particularly exciting segment is dedicated to seventh chords, specifically the ‘Drop-2’ voicings. This method, favored by Berklee, offers a systematic way to create pleasing and playable seven-chord voicings on four consecutive strings. You’ll gain ample practice in generating these shapes, significantly expanding your ability to play seventh chords in any key.
Finally, the course delves into the art of chord substitutions, diatonic chords, and even ‘gospel chords.’ This advanced module builds upon the Drop-2 voicings learned earlier, showing you how to creatively substitute chords and enrich your harmonic palette, often used in gospel music for its characteristic lushness. Learning to substitute chords based on a lead sheet is a skill that will immediately make your playing more sophisticated.
Overall, ‘Guitar Chord Voicings: Playing Up The Neck’ is an invaluable resource for any guitarist looking to deepen their harmonic knowledge and expand their playing. It’s well-structured, practical, and offers tangible skills that can be applied immediately. Highly recommended for intermediate players ready to take their chord playing to the next level.
Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/guitar-chords