Lesson on Sliding Sixth to Ninth Chords

Okay, the next lesson is a bit of a break from the weirdness of diminished sevenths, half tone whole tones, and minor seven flat five arpeggios. So, let's have a little light relief by looking at some sliding sixth to ninth chords that you can use over blues.

Chord Usage

What I like to do with these particular chords is throw them into solos, so you've got some more harmony going on in certain things. Obviously, they can also be used for accompanying as well, making sure that your accompaniment is a little bit more interesting than just straight block chords.

First Position Sixth to Ninth Chords in A

To start off with in A, we're going to look at first position sixth to ninth chords, which we call implied chords. This means that there aren't every note from the ninth or sixth chord, just some of them.

The Chord Shape

• In A:
  • We'll be focusing on these three notes:
    • D string: 5th fret
    • G string: 4th fret
    • B string: 5th fret

This forms a ninth chord. If we play it with the A, you can hear that sound. When you slide it up, it's a commonly used technique, very, very Stevie Ray Vaughan inspired!

Sliding Technique

To do this:

• Slide that ninth chord up two frets, and it becomes a sixth chord, which you can use over the other chords as well.

For example:

• When you get to D up here, play the 9th chord at the 10th fret.
• Slide it up to the 12th fret for the sixth chord.
• Then, back down, and back to A.
• When you reach E, repeat the process:
  • 12th fret to 14th fret
  • Back down to the 10th (D)
  • Finally back down to the 5th fret (A)
  • And up to D, then back down to A, and up to E.

Alternative Positions

You can also play these chords in a different area of the fretboard. Instead of the 5th on the D, G, and B strings, you can create that chord higher up at the 12th fret by playing the G, B, and E.

• Slide from 12th fret to 14th fret to get the sixth chord:

So now we have:

• From A, we change to D by moving from the 5th fret up to the 7th, returning back to A at the 12th fret.

Ending Movements

Then go to the E, which is on the 7th fret, laying your fingers across the D, G, B, and E strings.

• Slide from the 7th to the 9th, back to the D, and then back up to the 12th again to finish off.

Bringing It All Together

I'll just go through that so you can hear how the whole thing sounds with the chords on the G, B, and E.

And of course, with those, you can mix and match positions. To save yourself moving around too much:

• When you switch to the D, you can use 5th position while still moving up to the E, B, and G strings.

Let's see how that sounds while throwing it into some soloing over some backing.

Let's Play!

So, let's set up a 12 bar and give it a try.
1, 2, 3, death.