Okay, it's a 4 fret span and is moveable around the fretboard. Eg:
----------------
----------------
----------------
------5--------
------2--------
----------------
3 famous song examples that feature this are: Power of Love (Huey Lewis), Number of the Beast (Iron Maiden) and Hells Bells (AC/DC). Please read all of my explanation and tabs before replying, thanks :)
Now I assume it's a major chord without a 5th - so the above example would be G major without the D (ie: B and G). If we look at The Number of the Beast, and m understanding is correct, then the chord progression spells out C, G, C, D:
-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------
------5-----5-----5----7--------
------3-----2-----3----5--------
----------------------------------
The problem I have with this is that it's not normal, in rock & pop, to find chords with no 5, and the fact is the chord often appears in a walk down of the bass line which does, adiittedly, give a nice twist and allows for a more subtle shift when dropping to a chord that's a fifth lower. An example of walking down the bass line is Hells Bells:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------9---7---9------7---5---7--------------------------------------------
------7---7---7------7---5---7------------------5----5----2-------------
---------------------------------------------0-----3----2----0--------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another example is The Final Countdown by Europe. This song features both a walk down and a walk up (same chords but in reverse order):
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--7---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--7-----------7--------------7-----------7-----------4-----------4------------2-----------2-------------
--5----5--5--5----5--5----4----4--4--4----4--4--2----2--2--2----2--2--0----0--0--0-------------
And the idea that it's a shift to a chord a fifith lower without needing to change strings or have too much of a shift in the sound of the chord is destroyed by the intro riff to Huey Lewis's Power of Love. (Notes grouped together are 8th notes, spaces indicate 1/4 notes).
--------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
------5--5--5--2-----2--2--2-----------------------5----- REPEAT
------3--3--3--0-----0--0--0--3--3--3--5----5---2-----
-----------------------------------1--1--1--3----3---------
The reason my theory is wrong is because whilst we have a fairly standard C > Am > F > G progression, the very last chord which sets up the repeat of the riff would be a G along with the 6th root G that preceded it.
1) Why shift from one G shape to another? Is it really just to get a closer bass note (B) to lead into the C when the riff repeats?
2) If it's a G then why does it sound different to the power chord G on the 6th string?
Thx in advance
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2017 06:35AM by Rex Hamilton III. (
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