Chromatic transitions in chord changes
There are a lot of ways to make chord sequences more musically interesting. One way to be discussed here is using chromatic transitions in chord changes.
Maybe you have never heard the word “chromatic” before? Playing chromatically means that we are going one semitone in some direction, for example: C - C# - D - D# - E. By adding a C# tone between a C and a D chord, we get a softer transition, and we are getting a musical effect for free as well.
If you know how to find the notes on the fretboard, the rest is easy. But to better illustrate, a few music examples will follow.
Transition from Am to C
With the help of an extra note – in this case B – between the chords, a nice transition occurs. As you can understand from the tablature, we play with alternate strumming, but you can play it your own way if you prefer.
Transition from C to D
This time we add a C# between the C and the D chords.
Transition from E to C
Here we choose to go through the A note on the open A-string between Em and C. A isn't positioned directly between, but is present on the way. You are probably getting the main concept and we will finish with one example that involves more chords. We will still use the same principles though.
As you may notice, we don’t consistently use the method of chromatic tones here. Between C and D instead of C# we have the B note followed by A. Why? Music isn’t a mechanical process, and C# doesn’t belong in the same scale as the other chords. Using chromatic tones as in-between tones can by the way be done without any "key-dependence", but in this example we choose to stuck to the same key.
This article can be seen as an introduction of a certain way to implement new elements in your guitar playing, especially when playing chords. Besides the figures that have been shown here, therea are a lot more possibilities on the same theme. All you have to do is to find one note, or many notes if possible, and add it between two chords. For information how to find a certain note see Fretboard with notes.
See all articles about guitar.