# Favorite Chord



## median (Nov 7, 2012)

What is your favorite chord and why? Perhaps give examples in context.


----------



## Mprinsje (Nov 7, 2012)

d-minor




EDIT: it's the key of d-minor i know, i always wanted to find a suitable place to post this xD


----------



## median (Nov 7, 2012)

Mprinsje said:


> d-minor
> 
> 
> EDIT: it's the key of d-minor i know, i always wanted to find a suitable place to post this xD



LOL. "It's a 'Mach' piece"


----------



## Trespass (Nov 7, 2012)

This is such a weird question.


----------



## abandonist (Nov 8, 2012)

I don't know the name, but I can show it in tab.

x
2
4
0
3
2

Sounds so melancholy and wistful, but with a glimmer of hope. Take away the high E note and it sounds really sad. God I love that chord.


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 8, 2012)

G is a classic.


----------



## jsl2h90 (Nov 8, 2012)

The Cynic chord!

X
9
12
11
14
X

It sounds out of this world, very holdsworthian.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 8, 2012)

Sus2 chords. I actually have to constantly remind myself of how often I use them. It's an addiction.

I also like polychords.


----------



## DoomJazz (Nov 8, 2012)

Cause I can't theory good

0
4
6
7
0
x

You arpeggiate through it, and you're instantly floating in space.


----------



## morrowcosom (Nov 8, 2012)

Just cause I like palm muted down picking it really hard for longer notes. 

D 1
A 1
E 0 

In drop tuning 
G 2
D 3
A 3
D 1 

I like palm muted down picking this one really hard for longer notes as well. It also has a lot of melodic character. 

I do palm muted down picking on an acoustic as well. It is so percussive and ballsy with these multi-string chords.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 8, 2012)

DoomJazz said:


> Cause I can't theory good
> 
> 0
> 4
> ...



Sounds like you are playing A7b5 without G.


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 8, 2012)

A7(b5) without a G is A(b5). And the fifth in that chord is perfect - it's the highest note. A C# D# E gets you A(add#4). Depending on how it's used, though, that D# might not function as a chord tone, which would leave you with plain ol' A.


----------



## Stealthtastic (Nov 8, 2012)

D 5
A 5
D 9
G 8
B 7
E 6

drop tuned
I don't know what the hell it's called.

D
E 9
A 13
D 11
G 10
B x
E x

Once again, I don't know what the fuck it's called 

D
E x
A 8
D 7
G 9
B 6
E x

Seems funky... But I can't tab it out without my guitar... It's just the chord from the first riff in it's not safe to swim today.


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 8, 2012)

Stealthtastic said:


> D 5
> A 5
> D 9
> G 8
> ...


 
Some bullshit. I'm calling it a B&#8710;:G polychord.



> D
> E 9
> A 13
> D 11
> ...


 
B&#9837;m



> D
> E x
> A 8
> D 7
> ...



F&#8710;


----------



## ROAR (Nov 9, 2012)

mmmmmmm CMaj7.
followed by an Fmin9.
Thank you Kimbra<3<3<3<3<3


----------



## Spike Spiegel (Nov 9, 2012)

F6

x
3
2
3
x
1


----------



## Trespass (Nov 9, 2012)

ROAR said:


> mmmmmmm CMaj7.
> followed by an Fmin9.
> Thank you Kimbra<3<3<3<3<3



That's just 2/3s of a backdoor ii-V-i

First two lines:


----------



## ROAR (Nov 9, 2012)

oooh I'll have to check that out.
I love those two chords together, that Fmin is like a cliffhanger.
hahah Lady Bird. Hank would be proud


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 9, 2012)

SchecterWhore said:


> A7(b5) without a G is A(b5). And the fifth in that chord is perfect - it's the highest note. A C# D# E gets you A(add#4). Depending on how it's used, though, that D# might not function as a chord tone, which would leave you with plain ol' A.



Damn right. I was highly skeptical of the name I proposed for that chord, as A7(b5) doesn't reallly make sense.

Is the augmented fourth supposed to be resolved when one plays A(add#4) chords?


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 9, 2012)

Fuck, I don't know. If you perceive it as a functional dissonance and you feel it needs to resolve, then sure. Most of the time, #4's are in the chord for color, and are therefore not a functional dissonance - they make the chord 'crunchy', but don't demand any particular treatment. b5's, on the other hand, tend to have a greater sense of harmonic function For instance, take the voice leading in this progression:

[B7(b5) - E]

F---E
A---G#
D#-E
B---E (or B)

The b5 in the V7 chord wants to resolve down to the tonic. Although, it depends on the role of the chord.

[B7(b5) - Bb]

F---F
A---Bb
D#-D
B---Bb

There, the b5 didn't move at all. Its function there is sort of as an anticipation to the next chord - in a way, it was already resolved.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 9, 2012)

SchecterWhore said:


> Fuck, I don't know. If you perceive it as a functional dissonance and you feel it needs to resolve, then sure. Most of the time, #4's are in the chord for color, and are therefore not a functional dissonance - they make the chord 'crunchy', but don't demand any particular treatment.



Good to hear. Most of the time I will play a perfect fifth after the #4. It sounds good to me.


----------



## thedonal (Nov 9, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> Sus2 chords. I actually have to constantly remind myself of how often I use them. It's an addiction.
> 
> I also like polychords.


 
Yeah- sus2, sus4 and added 9th too. I was jamming a nice riff on an added 9th the other day.

That said, if you're playing an added ninth in a riff, but without the 3rd sitting above it, is it a sus2 or an added 9?- ie a chord on frets 7,9 and 11 from the 5th string.

Sus2 played against the (minor 3rd) has been a keyboards favourite for me recently.

I like hanging notes to cross from one chord to another or things like in Wish You Were Here or Wonderwall where the G and D sit over all the chords.

Lovely.

Other than that, my favourite chord is H.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 9, 2012)

thedonal said:


> Yeah- sus2, sus4 and added 9th too. I was jamming a nice riff on an added 9th the other day.
> 
> That said, if you're playing an added ninth in a riff, but without the 3rd sitting above it, is it a sus2 or an added 9?- ie a chord on frets *7,9 and 11 from the 5th string.
> *
> ...



That would be a sus2 chord. Only if you play the third are you playing a minor add9 chord.


----------



## thedonal (Nov 9, 2012)

Aha! Nice one- thanks! It's a great sound- nice for several chords in a row (though it's easy to sound quite Foo when doing this!)


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 9, 2012)

Listen to the beginning of Opeth's "the drapery falls". The guitar is basically switching from a sus2 chord to an add9th chord.


----------



## WesleyG (Nov 9, 2012)

In DADGAD

0
0
9
11
7
7


----------



## Koop (Nov 11, 2012)

Probably C#m7

E---0--|
B---0--|
G---6--|
D---6--|
A---4--|
E---X--|

and then you remove your index from the 4th fret or C# and get an A maj9. Sounds so beautiful.


----------



## Cynic (Nov 12, 2012)

F#m11


----------



## flyfishingmusic (Nov 23, 2012)

Am9 this voicing
0
0
5
5
x
5
Or AMaj9
0
0
6
6
x
5
I Don't know about favorite since on any night of a typical jazz gig I might play 400 different voicing/root combos but they Ralph Towner-ish and I like them


----------



## Experimorph (Nov 23, 2012)

I seem to abuse the add9no3 as well.

I also like various inversions of 4 and 5 part chords such as maj7 and maj9. But in the end it's always about the context.


----------



## JosephAOI (Nov 23, 2012)

Schecterwhore has named a couple of these before for me but I can't remember them for the life of me 

D#:12
A#:10
F#:10
C#:14
G#:0
D#:0
G#:0

D#:5
A#:7
F#:6
C#:9
G#:5
D#:5
G#:5

D#:10
A#:12
F#:11
C#:14
G#:10
D#:10
G#:10

D#:x
A#:x
F#:x
C#:5
G#:7
D#:3
G#:3


----------



## Lagtastic (Nov 23, 2012)

I've always been a fan of first inversion major triads.


----------



## in-pursuit (Nov 24, 2012)

Major or minor 9 with a #11 always does it for me.


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 24, 2012)

JosephAOI said:


> Schecterwhore has named a couple of these before for me but I can't remember them for the life of me
> 
> D#:12
> A#:10
> ...



E&#8710;/G#

So... many... D#'s...



> D#:5
> A#:7
> F#:6
> C#:9
> ...


C#&#8710;



> D#:10
> A#:12
> F#:11
> C#:14
> ...


F#&#8710;13



> D#:x
> A#:x
> F#:x
> C#:5
> ...


B

I think you like maj7 chords, dude.


----------



## JosephAOI (Nov 24, 2012)

I guess maj7 chords are generally the chords with dissonant notes but they actually sound really nice? Cause if so, yeah, I love those kind of chords


----------



## nostealbucket (Nov 24, 2012)

Eb minor 7 with an A in the bass

X
X
6
4
6
5

#11s (b5) are fun, too.


----------



## guitarmadillo (Nov 24, 2012)

Standard tuning

13
13
14
0
x
x


----------



## SirMyghin (Nov 24, 2012)

JosephAOI said:


> I guess maj7 chords are generally the chords with dissonant notes but they actually sound really nice? Cause if so, yeah, I love those kind of chords



M7 chords aren't all that disonant, they are generally regarded as very happy/major sounding / pretty chords.

My favourite chord is whatever the fuck one I wanted at that point in time. That one is always my favourite, I don't really have voicings I recycle often, far too context pertinent for that. Chords aren't where it is at, progressions of chords are.


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 24, 2012)

JosephAOI said:


> I guess maj7 chords are generally the chords with dissonant notes but they actually sound really nice? Cause if so, yeah, I love those kind of chords



Maj7 chords have always struck me as a bittersweet sonority. There is a tiny bit of dissonance when the seventh is voiced a minor second below the root, but yet, they don't have quite the functional dissonance of the tritone family of seventh chords.


----------



## Dead Undead (Nov 25, 2012)

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Full Length: Parts I - IX) - Pink Floyd - YouTube

That chord.



And these.


----------



## Swyse (Nov 26, 2012)

E---0--|
B---0--|
G---x--|
D---2--|
A---2--|
E---0--|

g string h8


----------



## SirMyghin (Nov 26, 2012)

Whatchoo got against 3rds?


----------



## Trespass (Nov 26, 2012)

SirMyghin said:


> Whatchoo got against 3rds?



Don't you know that septuple harmony is the new tertial?

Get with it man!


----------



## ThePhilosopher (Nov 26, 2012)

FCGDAE
x22333

and

x33555

No clue what either is.


----------



## morrowcosom (Nov 26, 2012)

In standard tuning

-8
-0
-6
-0
-
- 

It sounds so beautiful. When tremolo picked it brings forth all the fond emotions of a rolling ocean current kissing the feet of two lovers on a night time beach walk, strolling hand in hand.


----------



## Bretton (Nov 27, 2012)

Suspended Fourths. Not too happy, not too sad.


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 27, 2012)

Just frustrated.


----------



## straightshreddd (Nov 27, 2012)

Major and minor sevenths.


----------



## kung_fu (Nov 27, 2012)

SchecterWhore said:


> Just frustrated.



with a hint of bi-curiosity


----------



## penningmic (May 1, 2013)

I guess I am simple , but Am sounds great on an acoustic...... I guess so does all the other crazy stuff posted above


----------



## AugmentedFourth (May 2, 2013)

I thought there was another thread for this.

|--6--|
|--7--|
|--0--|
|--9--|
|--8--|
|--0--|

^The (final) tonic chord of the love song that I just wrote


----------



## Semi-pro (May 3, 2013)

In drop-C:

F-2
C-0
G-0
C-0

Palm muted and with lot's of "purr" in the sound. Nobody try steal that, it's mine!












This inversion of Maj7 is pretty cool:
3, 7, 1, 5


----------



## Chuck (May 3, 2013)

|-5-|
|-6-|
|-5-|
|-8-|
|-5-|

maj9 of sorts


----------



## yingmin (May 10, 2013)

ThePhilosopher said:


> FCGDAE
> x22333
> 
> and
> ...



Dmin11 and Ebmaj11, respectively


----------

