Understanding Chord Movements

Another thing I wanted to tell you about making chords is this: once you've got that shape down, to play in other keys, you just move the chord up and down as needed.

Importance of Knowing Scale Notes

It helps to know the notes of a scale, and this information will also be available on the website. Here are the notes:

• G
• G sharp
• A
• A sharp
• B
• C
• C sharp
• D
• D sharp
• E
• F
• F sharp
• G

Changing Keys: Example with A and B

Let's say you're in the key of A, and the singer says, "Ah, that's too low for me. I want to sing it in B."

To adjust, you'll need to:

1. Identify the A note.
2. Locate the B note:
   • It goes: A, A sharp, B.
   • The distance from A to B is two frets (1, 2).

This means you need to move your chord up two frets to play in B.

Visual Representation

Actually, this will be easier to understand with a visual representation, so refer to the diagram if available.

Playing Chords in Bluegrass

Now, regarding the basic major chord used in bluegrass, let's focus on the key of A.

To play a D chord from A:

• Keep the shape you see in A with your three fingers in their relative positions.
• Move it up in the direction needed.

If you don't have a place to put a finger:

• You generally don't want to play the open E, as it won't sound good in a bluegrass context. Instead, just play the bottom three notes.

Playing All Four Strings

If you want to play all four strings, take the D note and switch your finger positions.

• Use your bottom three fingers instead of the initial three.
• This gives you the same notes but allows for finger flexibility.

Now you can fret the second fret of the E string with the freed finger, enabling you to play all the notes.

Before, if you hit all the notes with the original position, you'd get an E, which is not part of a D or D major chord. The shape with F sharp on top looks like this.

Moving to E Chord

To play an E chord, do the same thing you did for the D chord:

• Move it up two frets.

Quick Chord Changes

A lot of times, when playing some tunes, you'll only need to switch between an A and an E chord.

Instead of going through the process of lifting all fingers, do this:

• Keep a finger planted: This note (E) is common to both the A chord and the E chord.
• Change only the three fingers that are needed.

At first, this switch will be difficult and will require thought. However, with practice, it becomes an economical way of changing chords without lifting everything up.