Best of 2021: Guitar skills (opens in new tab): These shapes are fairly standard, but do check out the C – we’re targeting a high G note on the first string to make it more jangly and sit in with the other chords. The same thing happens with the Am7. And this G is a simplified open G. It’s well worth experimenting with different voicings of these shapes – and have a listen to Talk Of The Town by the Pretenders to hear some of these in action.
Try out the chords with this track
This indie style example is modelled after The Smiths (Johnny Marr) and REM (Peter Buck), but also harks back to early Pretenders (James Honeyman Scott). Jangling open strings are the name of the game, sometimes picked, sometimes strummed. A chorus pedal does a nice job of recreating double-tracked recorded sounds.
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