Matt Heaton - Bouzouki Workshop #2 - Chords in the key of G (mostly)

 Matt just released the second workshop in his Backer Corner series. Here he gives an overview of useful chords in the key of G. 

I made a chord-chart with the app guitartoolkit (highly recommended) so it is easier to follow him.

If you'd like to donate to Matt you can do it here: PayPal button -- https://tinyurl.com/wqofe4b

 

Accompanying Tunes in Am with Gm-Chords Capo 2 - The Castle Jig

A nice way of accompaniment for A Dorian tunes (Am) is to put the capo in 2nd position and play in Gm. This way you can use the G-string and or the D-string as drone (with capo then A and E).

I made a chord chart with lots of chords for this occasion:

As an example here are some possible chords for the tune Castle Jig. Your ears have to decide what sounds good for you:

I found this nice version of the Castle Jig, so this one might be used to try to accompany.




This is Kevin Burke teaching the Castle Jig. I cut out his performance and looped it, so I could play along with him. I used some of the chords shown above in the chord sheet. I had lots of inspiration from the Guitar Course at OAIM which is well worth a look at, even for players of the bouzouki. https://www.oaim.ie




Here's a second video with some slightly different chords:

Chords Am and G - Matt & Shannon Heaton: Reels in the Heaton Kitchen - Flute and Bouzouki [Leaving the Station, Rollin, Maud Millar]

A lovely video made in the Heaton's kitchen.




In the first tune Matt plays Am C G chords (Capo7, so it's Em)

In the second tune he plays G C D chords (so it's D with capo 7th fret)

I did not check the third tune yet.

I made a chord sheet with these chords:

Here's a short video where I play these chord progressions slowly.

Chord shapes in G-Minor - also usable Capo 2, then A-Minor

Here's a little chord chart I made some time ago. Chords in higher positions for G-Minor. With capo on the 2nd fret this is useful for tunes in the key of A-Minor. Just play along and have fun.

Lots of chords for bouzouki

A video I found some time ago, but as often forgotten to post it. Jwhelan shows lots of chords and chord combinations. Unfortunately no chord chart here. If anyone would like to write these chords down please share the list in the comments.

Update: chords and positions for bouzouki

I recently updated my worksheet for building chords. Here's the new version. It contains positions of possible fingerings for most used chords. So you can figure out, where to put your fingers if you need a chord for a chord change.

For example: If you play a D (7400) and want to change to a nearby G chord you could choose (7500) or (7900) or maybe (7 9 10 0).


! There is a mistake in this list. It should be Bb Major, not minor! You don't need a BbMinor chord for the most common tunes.

Chords in the Key of D and G

This is by far the most visited blog entry. So it seems that most people are looking for chord-shapes. There are a lot more blog entries which deal with chord or chord shapes. Maybe you could have a look at the labels on the right side. There you'll find some chord charts and some more information and videos about the topic chords.

 

Bob Gooday has released two videos on youtube which deal with Chords in the key of D and G. If you are a beginner this could be really helpful. As these are beginner tutorials he does not all possibilities on the fretboard. So this can only be a starting point.

Basic Chords in D


These are the basic chords he uses in this video:


Chord symbols - low to high string. 0=open string, x=do not play

D5 x000 or 2000 or 7000
A5 2202 or 2200 (with a D drone)
G5 0555

D Major x400 or 7400
A Major 2242
G Major 0020 or 0520 or 0025

B Minor 4420
B5 4424

E Minor 0222
E5 x222

Basic chords in G




Here are the chord shapes he uses in this video:

Chord symbols - low to high string. 0=open string, x=do not play

G Major 0020 or 0520 or 0025
G5 0555

D5 x000 or 2000
D Major 7400
C Major 0232 or 5232

A Minor 2232
A5 2202

E Minor 0222
E5 x222


To give you a lot more information here are chord charts I made for the key of D. They are in useful combinations. So every line shows one possible chord combination. There are lot of 2-Finger chords which let the open A and D string ring to give a drone Sound which is so special to the bouzouki.

And here is my video which shows how these chords sound like.

GDAD Chord Chart by Michael Eskin

Michael Eskin has made a list of Bouzouki Chord Patterns in the keys of  D, G, D Dorian (E Dorian with Capo 2) and G Dorian (A Dorian with Capo 2). This could be of great help for beginners.

Michael is the producer of many iPhone/iPad virtual instruments like bagpipes, flutes and accordions. I haven't tried them, because these are not my kind of instruments but they may be worth a try.
You can find information at: www.tradlessons.com




The chordchart is to be found at:

http://www.tradlessons.com/GDAD.pdf

Find Chord shapes for different chords on GDAD

Some time ago I made this little helper. This shows all the position of the notes wich are in a specified chord. So it helps to find out different positions of the chords.