Which kind of chords do you use?

[Martin Schmidt]

Hi, I wonder which kind of chords you play on a steel guitar. I find it difficult to use more than 3 notes in a voicing (except the different harmonic possibilities for the C6 chord).
So, which kind of chords do you play? 2 notes, 3 notes voicings, do you use a lot of slants for chords (I´m still fighting with the first inversion of the minor chord, but it´s getting better). Or do you stick more to little fills and licks for backup?

[Brad Bechtel]

I'd say it depends on the song and who else is playing. If I'm playing with a full band, I tend to use phrases and dyads (two-string chords) to add color to the overall sound. In a smaller ensemble or solo, I tend to play fuller and attempt more chords.

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[John Bechtel]

For the greatest satisfaction, I find that ‘less’ is usually ‘more’! Again, Byrd is the best example of that!

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“Big John” Bechtel
Franklin PSG D–10 (9 &
Fender ’49–’50 T–8 Custom
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[Craig Prior]

Martin, funny story. I almost didn't bother to read this thread because when it said "Which kind of chords do you use?" I thought you meant, which kind of CORDS do you use? You know, to connect to an amplifier... ehhh... okay, maybe not such a funny story.

Anyway, like Brad said. Depends on the arrangement. Normally I keep it to 2 or 3 note chords. I especially like phrases where you "roll the bar" to get several notes on adjacent strings one after another, but it happens so fast they're being play near-simultaneously. Especially useful for odd chord shapes where you couldn't possibly slant the bar to get these notes.

There a section in the last bridge to my arrangement of La Rosita (based on Bob Brozman's arrangement) where you place the bar straight at the 17th fret and give it these nice harp-like strums. That's all six strings (on the tricone) in a Bm tuning (low to high: F# B D F# B D).

BTW - that reminds me of a topic for another thread.

[Richard Sinkler]

George L's. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

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Carter D10 9p/10k, NV400