Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Guitar Amps
  • Drums
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Lemmy vs Dylan
  • Are 'Friends' Electric?
  • Flava D - DnB is hard
  • Prince's drummers
  • 95k+ free music samples
Don't miss these
native instruments
Music Production Tutorials "As nuanced as the real thing, but only if you know what you're doing": The ultimate guide to plugin guitars
The Police
Artists The surprising origins and intricate musical theory behind an iconic Police masterpiece
A Fender Player II Stratocaster and Telecaster on a white piece of wood with lots of holes in it
Electric Guitars Best electric guitars under $1,000/£1,000 in 2025: My top picks for players of all styles
Yungblud
Artists Yungblud reveals his secret to making acoustics sound massive – and hints at future signature model
Orbit Culture's guitarists
Electric Guitars Orbit Culture show us their ESP guitars – and tell us why the EverTune bridge is a game-changer
Brian May and Freddie Mercury in 1980
Artists “I have none of that high-speed technical skill of a Steve Vai or a Joe Satriani”: How Brian May plays off instinct
Loog Guitars x Gibson: these child-friendly 3-strings reimagine the Les Paul and SG for young beginners.
Guitars Gibson teams up with Loog for child-friendly 3-string versions of its most famous electric guitars
A guitar VST running in Kontakt player on a computer
Plugins Best guitar VSTs 2025: Get the best simulated guitar tones for your next production
Fender American Ultra Luxe 60s Stratocaster
Electric Guitars Fender Ultra Luxe Vintage '60s Stratocaster review
MIDI
Digital Audio Workstation How to humanise your virtual acoustic instruments in your DAW projects
Side profile of a person playing a drum kit
Drum Lessons & Tutorials 13 easy drum songs every beginner should learn
Oasis
Guitars Want to learn to play Wonderwall on the guitar? You’re not the only one…
Fender Custom Shop Ariel Posen Stratocaster: Posen's new signature model was inspired by the Jazzmaster and has custom-wound AP-90 pickups. Check out those cupcake-style control knobs.
Artists Ariel Posen’s new Custom Shop signature Strat is A) stunning and B) inspired by a… Jazzmaster?
Debbie Gough of Heriot demoes the new Jackson Pro Plus Metal Phase II Warrior on a darkened studio set.
Guitars Jackson adds Warrior, King V and Concert Bass to its limited edition Pro Plus Pure Metal range
David Gilmour plays a Black Stratocaster onstage in New York, on a moody stage lit in dark blue.
Artists David Gilmour shares an essential tone tip for guitarists using a whammy bar with a delay pedal
  1. Tutorials
  2. Guitar Lessons & Tutorials
  3. Guitar Chords

Guitar chord vocab: close-voiced finger-stretchers

Tuition
By Adrian Clark ( Guitarist ) published 10 July 2015

Put your fingers to the test with these massive stretches

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Intro: flex those fingers

Intro: flex those fingers

Let’s get moody with close-voiced chords! These are most associated with keyboard instruments, where they’re the easiest chords to play, but they're much harder on guitar, so make sure you warm up before attempting these monster stretches…

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5
D7

D7

As we said before, these chords aren't for the faint-hearted, so let’s start gently(-ish) with this D7.

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5
E6

E6

Just take it slowly, and make sure your thumb is right behind the neck. Applying an even spacing across the top four strings gives us this E6, which will also work as an Amaj7 without a root (get your bassist to play that) or a C#m7.

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5
C7

C7

Shifting the same shape across to the next four strings gives us another dominant 7 shape. The root of the chord is on the B string, so this is C7…

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5
G7add6

G7add6

And if all that hasn’t brought tears to your eyes, try this one. It’s shimmeringly ambiguous, and will work as a G7add6, an Fmaj9 or even - with your bassist providing the root - a Dm13.

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
Adrian Clark
Read more
native instruments
"As nuanced as the real thing, but only if you know what you're doing": The ultimate guide to plugin guitars
 
 
The Police
The surprising origins and intricate musical theory behind an iconic Police masterpiece
 
 
A Fender Player II Stratocaster and Telecaster on a white piece of wood with lots of holes in it
Best electric guitars under $1,000/£1,000 in 2025: My top picks for players of all styles
 
 
Yungblud
Yungblud reveals his secret to making acoustics sound massive – and hints at future signature model
 
 
Orbit Culture's guitarists
Orbit Culture show us their ESP guitars – and tell us why the EverTune bridge is a game-changer
 
 
Brian May and Freddie Mercury in 1980
“I have none of that high-speed technical skill of a Steve Vai or a Joe Satriani”: How Brian May plays off instinct
 
 
Latest in Guitar Chords
Music Theory
How learning and understanding chord symbols can prove a major benefit for sharing your musical ideas
 
 
Woman playing a guitar chord on an acoustic guitar
Get strumming: The 22 essential beginner, blues and folk guitar chords every guitarist should learn first
 
 
Billie Joe Armstrong
"You can learn hundreds of songs with a few easy chords and some basic rhythm playing chops"
 
 
A man plays acoustic guitar with a capo on the neck
How to use tried and tested chord progressions when crafting your song
 
 
A man plays a chord on an acoustic guitar in a stylish, light home environment. Window behind provides a space for copy
How to understand and use suspended chords
 
 
Julian Lage
“There are so many hurdles guitar players get into that are attributed to knowing 30% of the neck. Just map it out - it takes a week”: Julian Lage unlocks the secret of mastering guitar
 
 
Latest in Tuition
MusicRadar logo
Never miss a MusicRadar thing: Google has made it easier to keep us in your feed
 
 
Frustrated music producer
Why imposing hard limitations could be the secret to finishing more music
 
 
Ableton Live Tutorial
5 creative ways to use distortion in Ableton Live: From punchier drums to dub techno delays
 
 
Logic Drums
How to think like a human drummer when building software beats
 
 
Virtual drums
How to make virtual acoustic drum performances sound like the real thing
 
 
How to program MIDI drums that sound like the real thing
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...