---WHEW!! talk about a "study".....there's enough material for
long - term assimilation here....
Thank you Doug !!

In The-Guitar-Cafe@yahoogroups.com, Douglas Baldwin <coyotelk@...>
wrote:
>
> All good info from Randy. More below...
> Randy wrote:
> Voicing is what order the notes that make up the chord are played.
> The notes in a C chord are C, E, and G. when you play an open C
> chord, the notes you play are C-E-G-C-E. When you barre an A form
at
> the third fret, you have a C chord, but the notes are C-G-C-E-G.
> Same notes, but a different voicing.
>
> Video here:
>
> http://media.putfile.com/Alternate-voicings-and-fingerings
>
> More on chords here:
>
> http://www.geocities.com/1guitarjunkie/moveable.html
>
> Here are some more thoughts and commentrs on voicing.
> In music-speak, there are actually two ways to order the notes of a
three-note chord like C major, referred to as "close voicing"
and "open voicing." In each type of voicing, you have three different
inversions, or orders, that the notes can be in. here are the three
inversions of close voicing:
> C E G, played low to high, is referred to as "close voicing, root
position."
>
> E G C (low to high) is "close voicing, first inversion."
>
> G C E (low to high) is "close voicing, second inversion."
>
> When we play a chord in "open voicing," we rearrange the notes so
there's a "gap" between them.
>
> C G E (low to high) is "open voicing, root position."
>
> E C G (low to high) is "open voicing, first inversion."
>
> G E C (low to high) is "open voicing, second inversion."
>
> In my humble opinion, this classification system is poorly named,
and is annoying (maybe largely useless) for many beginner and
intermediate guitarists. However, for an alert musician who is
willing to pursue it with open ears, it is a goldmine of opportunity.
A good study for an intermediate guitarist is to take a group of
three adjacent strings and play the close voicings of all 12 major
chords in all three close voicings. For example, on the low E (6th),
A (5th) and D (4th) strings, you might play the following:
>
> C E G = 8 7 5
>
> E G C = 12 10 10
>
> G C E = 3 3 2 and 15 15 14
>
> Then follow the cycle of fifths around for a nice musical-sounding
sequence:
>
> G major
>
> G B D = 3 2 0 and 15 14 12
>
> B D G = 7 5 5
>
> D G B = 10 10 9
>
> D major
>
> D F# A = 10 9 7
>
> F# A D = 2 0 0 and 14 12 12
>
> A D F# = 5 5 4
>
> A major, etc.
>
> A good intermediate student of the guitar will play all of the
major, minor, augmented, and diminished triads in all voicings on all
possible string sets. If it's not clear to the student as to HOW to
organize these voicings into musically pleasant etudes, then a good
instructor should be found who can explain and play progressions of
root motion in seconds, thirds, and fourths, ascending and
descending, using conventional voice-leading. It's a nice piece of
work and will take from several months to a year or more to work
through. In practical terms, all voicings are great for contrasting
with another guitarist. Open voicings are great when you use moderate
to extreme distortion and want to retain the quality of a chord.
>
> I hope this helps give some direction and clarity to some of you!
>
> Best,
>
> Douglas Baldwin, coyote-at-large
> www.TheCoyote.org
> coyotelk@...
>
> "Nikola Tesla is the fifth Beatle."
> - Taylor Baldwin, 11
>