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Guitar chords.. just how many are there


Rabs

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It seems endless the amount of chords there are too choose from. I once was looking for something different and bought a book of Jazz chords and there must be about 70 pages of them. I know alot are just variations etc but still it just shows how much there is to know.

 

Check this PDF

http://www.tabguitarlessons.com/downloadchords.cgi/ultimate-guitar-chords.pdf

 

Also theres lots of online chord finders like this

http://chordfind.com/

 

And check how much there is on Jazz chords

http://www.jazzguitar.be/jazz_guitar_chords.html

 

Ive also seen a few mobile apps like this.. I think its cool that this amount of info is available to players today without having to buy piles of books.. Helps in our never ending search for that right sound :) [thumbup]

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Excellent links Rabs.........Very cool "Jazz Lesson" link.....Two months ago I went searching for free online 'lesson' type links,

 

and didn't find much for free..........Thanks very much...........

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Excellent links Rabs.........Very cool "Jazz Lesson" link.....Two months ago I went searching for free online 'lesson' type links,

 

and didn't find much for free..........Thanks very much...........

No worries.. and GOOD LUCK :) Some of those Jazz chords make my hands hurt just looking at them..

 

Is that what they mean by Jazz Hands?? :P :)

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In the covers band I play drums, there are two professional guitarists with graduation of the classical Richard Strauss Conservatory, Munich. They told me, and showed me many years ago that they have to know and be able to fret 479 chords by heart. They added that there are much more in jazz music.

 

I try to get by with about 30 to 40, and additional transposing via barre, of course. In my creative quartet I play guitar, the other guitarist knows and plays a fair multiple, and I guess I never will be able to keep up with him. But when I am composing songs, I sometimes design chords that my perfect pitch calls for although I never knew them before. They occasionally appear to be unknown to my pal, too.

 

So everybody may go and create to meet one's own taste, delight, and expression I believe.

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In the covers band I play drums, there are two professional guitarists with graduation of the classical Richard Strauss Conservatory, Munich. They told me, and showed me many years ago that they have to know and be able to fret 479 chords by heart. They added that there are much more in jazz music.

 

I try to get by with about 30 to 40, and additional transposing via barre, of course. In my creative quartet I play guitar, the other guitarist knows and plays a fair multiple, and I guess I never will be able to keep up with him. But when I am composing songs, I sometimes design chords that my perfect pitch calls for although I never knew them before. They occasionally appear to be unknown to my pal, too.

 

So everybody may go and create to meet one's own taste, delight, and expression I believe.

WOW nice info there man.. cheers for sharing that [thumbup]

 

I probably can only name about 15 or so chords, but know how to play more, maybe about 40 or 50 like you (around that sort of figure anyway), I just dont know what they are all called as I usually play by ear (with a little tab help from time to time) :unsure: :)

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:rolleyes: Forgot to mention before that my guitar pal is high class chess league player. Perhaps chords and lines appear like positions and moves to him [wink]

 

On the other hand, he is playing guitar a little too chess-like. No chess match seems to be like the other, and so he doesn't play any song twice the same way. This may seem interesting sometimes when working on arrangements, but playing accomplished songs depends on a certain amount of reproduceability. He often may be in too much trouble to decide which of the countless suitable chords he should play... :(

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A chord is a set of 2 or more notes that make a harmonic quality, so 2 x 6 strings = 12. Then 12 seperate tones per string combining with the 12 tones of another string = 144 x 6 strings = 864. Add in a third note per strings = 2592 x 12 = 31,104 x 6 string = 186,624. Add a 4th note...etc #-o

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A chord is a set of 2 or more notes that make a harmonic quality, so 2 x 6 strings = 12. Then 12 seperate tones per string combining with the 12 tones of another string = 144 x 6 strings = 864. Add in a third note per strings = 2592 x 12 = 31,104 x 6 string = 186,624. Add a 4th note...etc #-o

There are certain restrictions due to the frets one may reach using just one hand.

 

Additionally, in classical music's definition, any chord consists of at least three notes of different chroma regardless of octave, i. e. two or more octave notes are counted as one note only. So I believe the 479 chords I posted above would have to result probably.

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This thread could go on forever, and be much more interesting and informative than the "song association" thread.

 

OK, here's my take (from a late-middle-aged jazzer): My answer is............27

 

The question as posted in the title is "...how many CHORDS", not how many fingerings. Therefore, a "cowboy chord" G and a barre chord G are one chord... a "G".

 

Also, in jazz chords, the root note only defines where the chord is played, not how the chord is played. So for example, an Am7 and a Gm7 are the same chord, a "m7", just played in a different place on the neck.

 

According to "Mel Bay's Deluxe Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords" there are 27 standard chord extensions.

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There are certain restrictions due to the frets one may reach using just one hand.

 

Additionally, in classical music's definition, any chord consists of at least three notes of different chroma regardless of octave, i. e. two or more octave notes are counted as one note only. So I believe the 479 chords I posted above would have to result probably.

 

Not "achording" to Wikipedia

 

What is a chord?

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Not "achording" to Wikipedia

 

What is a chord?

Regardless of the Wiki (which I like and use often on many topics), they are counting "power chords", which in traditional music are not a true chord. A Chord traditionally is a "Triad", consisting of 3 (different) notes.

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