Grateful Dead Music Forum

Do you just have to be really fast to more from Ao chord on the first fret to A on the 5th? I can't do it fast enough
Is there another Ao position closer to the 5th, or do you need more than one guitar? Or maybe you need to be just that bit faster?

Yes, it's a piece of cake actually.

Look at it? Kinda looks like a D7 with a D# doesn't it?

Well that's what it is!!!

Barre the 5 the, make a D7, then add the D#:

e -5----5-
b -5----7-
g -5----5-
d -5----7-
a -5----6-
e -5----x-

Keep in mind that simple chord is an A dim7 but it is also a C dim7, a D# dim7, and a F# dim7.

Each dim7 is the dim7 for every note you are playing.

Very useful to remember. It's trick #3 in my bag o tricks.

#1 is the play on relative minors in a jam
#2 is the relationship between a maj7 and the iii. (Emaj7 & Abm for example)

Thanks, thats really something. Makes a lot of sense.

And I guess you'd play the E chord on the 4th after the F#m.

sarraqum wrote:Thanks, thats really something. Makes a lot of sense.

And I guess you'd play the E chord on the 4th after the F#m.

Bingo buddy! E, C#m, F#m are almost always played off the 4th!

The only times I play E off the 7th are:
The Other One
Sugaree for a slide
When I am spacing out and gonna miss the change

Okay I do for a few tunes but I really rely on the voicing that you get from that shaping of the chord getting the 1,3,5,1,3 is just awesome!

Now for a fun one try playing the E off the 9th fret! You'll have to barre the 9th, pull your ring finger on the low e at the 12, your middle to the a string on the 11th and your pinky on the high e on the 12th.

Make sure it's a slow song cuz it is a stretch!!!

You can also slide the diminished chord (Ao - F#,C,D#,A) up so that your pinkey on the high E string is on the 5th fret (A) and the chord remains the same. You are then very close to an A on the 5th.

I like playing from the D chord to Ao(if that's really what it is) with the high e string at A, then sliding it up to where the estring is at C, then D# before going to the AGD refrain. The 3 chords are variations of the same chord (F#,C,D#,A notes) and add a lot of emotion.

I also prefer playing A on the 2nd fret during the verse and the C#7 in the 2nd fret position from that A. But just my preference.

-s

I also like to play the A in open position for this song. Sounds nicer to my ear. But for the whole progression I move around a whole bunch haha. I go for the F#m at 9 then the E at 7 D7 at 5 lol. But its what I got used to. But yeah the change isnt hard to go from that Adim7 to the A. As for the E at 4th fret discussion I must admit I rarely use the E there. I play it off the 7th fret. Ive been meaning to get better at those stretches like for the E at the 4th using the E on the A string for the root. Like the chord isnt a problem on its own. But gettin into that one in a hurry gives me trouble sometimes.

I'm using a different shape, routinely.

From the Mel Bay Chord System for Rhythm and Orchestral Guitar you see this shape:

A dim

e|x
B|1
G|2
D|1
A|x
E|2

but I take the low E string note and switch it to the high e string to get

e|2
B|1
G|2
D|1
A|x
E|x

and that's all I work with. It repeats every 3 frets, so 1st fret, 4th fret, 7th fret, and 10th fret.

I've gotten used to it, so it is easy to get to the A at the 5th fret.

But what I like about the shape is when you come from the open D chord heading to the Ao at the first fret, it just sounds really good because it is so similar to the D7 that would be associated with the open D. In fact, for the longest time I was just playing the D7 there instead of the Ao.

Old man down. The shape for Ao at the 5th still resembles the D7 just as much as that shape lol. If you ask me the 1st position chord is alot harder.

and just so you know, its easier to play Ao on the first/2nd fret idk which one it is then barre a on the 2nd

GratefulPat wrote:and just so you know, its easier to play Ao on the first/2nd fret idk which one it is then barre a on the 2nd

Easier and voicing are often at odds...

i posted the video playing it the way i described earlier, it looks like how jerry played it, and sounds 100% right to me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iozA-uxKwm4

also sometimes Jerry apples vs Bob oranges. For (70's -style) Jerry, I've got:

tigerstrat wrote:also sometimes Jerry apples vs Bob oranges. For (70's -style) Jerry, I've got:

Code: Select all

  |
E|--------0--
B|--1--1--2--
G|--2--2--2--
D|--1--1--2--
A|--------0--
E|-----------

"Code: Select all" ??

e|2
B|1
G|2
D|1
A|x
E|x

As my German HS soccer coach used to say, "Ja, ja! Dat's de von!"

BlobWeird wrote:Old man down. The shape for Ao at the 5th still resembles the D7 just as much as that shape lol. If you ask me the 1st position chord is alot harder.

Nah, it's an easy move from the open D7 to switch to a barre on the 1st with the index finger; middle and ring stay put, just like your middle finger is primed for the D# in the V position. Do it three times and it's second nature...

Caviat emptor: it all depends on where the other guitarist is playing as to whether I go I or V position.

My $.02