Guitar lessons: Learning a new chord can lead to great things – maybe even a whole new song. We've rounded up five varied artists and signature chords from their songs to stir up some new ideas for you.
Gsus2/4
This chord is central to Sheryl Crow’s If It Makes You Happy. It’s more common to embellish G major riffs with a C/G chord, but this shape has a unique texture. With no 3rd, it creates an ambiguous harmony. Can’t be that bad!
Ebsus2
The sus2 has a beautiful, longing quality that is neither major nor minor. Because of that, you can try it as a substitute for both major and minor chords. It opens Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over, but works in almost every genre.
C#m7
Dave Grohl is a master of using open strings in unusual voicings for a combination of jangle and crunch. This one opens Best Of You. As well as sounding great, it’s arguably easier than many more common minor 7 shapes thanks to the lack of a barre.
Am9
Tune to drop D (or better yet, drop C) to give this Periphery secret chord its worth. Mark Holcomb and Misha Mansoor use these gorgeous extended chords to punctuate brutal riffing, but warm up and stretch carefully or you’ll experience a brutal injury!
A7/E
Stevie Ray Vaughan punctuates the verse in Pride And Joy with scorching A7 stabs courtesy of this shape. You can even bend the top two strings up a quarter tone for added grit. Keep the bottom strings muted and it makes a moveable blues shape for both rhythm and lead parts.
