Chords

Learn the all-purpose passing chord – the get-out-of-jail-free hack used by Kurt Cobain and Billie Joe Armstrong

By Jimmy Brown Published 16 August 26

You’ve heard it in Smells Like Teen Spirit and countless other grunge and punk classics. You may even already be doing it…

Don’t barre the F chord. Try embellishing it instead

By Jimmy Brown Published 9 August 26

John Frusciante and Lindsey Buckingham are both advocates for alternative F chord shapes that give you extra options for color

How recycling chord shapes can unlock new and surprising sounds

By Richard Barrett Published 6 August 26

By recycling open chord shapes in different positions, you will uncover a wealth of fascinating voicings – just ask Jimmy Page. Here are 5 chords to get you started

5 chord voicings that are a songwriter’s best friend

By Richard Barrett Published 25 July 26

Despite the ‘four lads from Liverpool’ tag, The Beatles used some very sophisticated chords in many of their songs, and the audience lapped them up

5 chords that sound like they’re in an open tuning (but aren’t)

By Richard Barrett Published 22 May 26

Because sometimes retuning your guitar is, well, a pain in the backside – and there are workarounds

5 easy open-position alternate chord voicings that will give you extra jangle

By Richard Barrett Published 22 April 26

James Honeyman-Scott of The Pretenders was a master at creating interesting parts from simple alternate chords. We look at five you can use in your playing

5 altered chords you need to know – and how they get their names

By Richard Barrett Published 12 March 26

Altered chords can be intimidating at first, but here we demystify the naming conventions, and once you understand that, you can easily find your own

Demystifying 13th chords, the voicing that Stevie Ray Vaughan used to stunning effect in Lenny

By Richard Barrett Published 17 February 26

This primer in 13th chords will give you five voicings to use in your playing – and an explanation on how they get their name

Demystifying chord names, starting with a Hendrix and SRV favorite, the maj9

By Richard Barrett Published 14 January 26

A little knowledge with naming conventions goes a long way to understanding complex chords and how they might sound

Pete Townshend, Ray Davies and David Bowie all used third inversion chords – here’s why (and how) you should, too

By Richard Barrett Published 10 December 25

If the idea of third inversions seems all upside down, fear not: these five examples show how easy they are to put together – and how musical they are when you apply them in a song