Are there any players that are outstanding at it?
Are there any players that are outstanding at it?
I may not be outstanding at it but I do like strumming open chords. I love the sound of open chords on the mandolin.
Yes.
I love the resonance and sustain of certain open chords.
Its a lot of sound, too.
I can use it too for certain disonant chords especially due to more sustain.
I think i use them for ballads, folk songs, even blues and rock.
I use them sometimes for intros where i want to build anticipation for the more solid beat of a chop, sorta going from softer focus to definition.
I use to fill out certain parts of a song, a break from a chop.
Use them too for arpegiated fills.
Its just a different color.
Last edited by stevedenver; Feb-02-2018 at 9:02am.
Yes, my preference may of course be a reflection more on my abilities rather than the inherent qualities of "closed" chords
Yes... but not all the time. Sometimes it's fun to not chop and just strum. I guess it all depends how the music feels and the sound I'm looking for.
What is the difference between an open and closed chord?
"Open" chords utilize some open strings. Closed chords have fretted notes for each voice of the chord.
Steve
As Steve said.
One main difference is that because closed chords have a finger over each string involved, they can be chopped. Not easy to chop an open chord.
I use open chords for songs and stuff. I sometimes use a down beat sort of ukulele strum.
I love to strum open chords and play the open strings in general. I really do. They sound great and I swear it's therapeutic. Now, without sounding like a complete smart aleck - Sam Bush, Tim O'Brien, Mike Marshall and Chris Thile are all outstanding at utilizing open chords and open strings in their playing.
In addition to using open chords when I think it works well with the music, for me commonly Irish and Scottish folk, I also like to hit at least one open pair for a drone effect when playing some melodies (Angeline Baker, Ragtime Annie, etc.)
Peace
The open chord two finger G major is much more beautiful than the four finger bluegrass G major chord. IMO.
Jesse McReynolds does it most all the time, I don`t recall him doing any chops...He does play some "closed" chords at times but not many chops....
Willie
I like to use them; IMO placing some "big" open chords for effect sounds great, especially when you're playing solo with vocals. When you can get away with a D7 like 5-0-0-2 or that beautiful partial C at 0-5-3-0 it can be a really cool sound, and there are so many other cool open voicings.
Outstanding payers? I think there are many, many (probably most of the modern) outstanding players who do it. One example, Sam Bush plays Girl of the North Country using:
G: 0-0-2-3
C: 0-5-3-0
D: 2-0-0-2
Em: 0-2-2-3
C: 0-2-3-0
You can find more examples than you might think of outstanding use of open chords by world class players.
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Yes.
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Open chords can break the sameness on a tune. I use them when it fits. Angelina baker comes to mind. Switching to open chords lightly behind half of a guitar break gives the chop rhythm a kick on the second half. Imo of course
For example, a simple song like "Wayfaring Stranger" sounds great in Dm. Chords are Dm, Gm, Bb, F, and A. Strum the Dm with 2-0-0-1 and the Gm with 0-0-1-3. Boom-chuck the G and D strings, and you've got an earful of melancholia. Love it!
I love to strum open chords with an open mind and an open mouth. Thanks for asking!
Jim
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Yes. Open chords can be great. I use them most frequently on fiddle tunes the first time through when someone else kicks the tune off. I also like to use them when the guitar is taking a break and there is no need for both the mandolin and banjo to be the back beat snare drum while there is a gaping sonic hole where the rhythm guitar normally resides. I'm also a fan of open harmony notes in melodies, as someone else mentioned above, as taught to me by the Tottle book all those years ago.
Scott
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it's hard.
I do it.
Melody's easier.
No joke, I play in a duet and we work up sets and such. When guitar-buddy takes melody (finger-style DADGAD) and I'm strumming, "Meaningful" backup, there's a lot of exposure. Downbeat chopping in a trio or better, is pretty straight. I really do have issues being, "Musical" when chording!
f-d
¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
I've been playing my flattop tuned FCAC, some nice open chord strums out of that. Hard to beat a 12 string guitar tuned DADGAD though for open chord strumming.
Do I like to? Yeah,I guess so.I don't hate it....
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