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Hey everyone and particularly hey every guitar player,
I've been playing acoustic fingerpicking guitar for the better part of a year now, starting in December of 2012. I've progressed surprisingly smoothly, owing largely to determination and lots of free time
Fingerstyle is really fun, but it's also rather solitary, so I gave up an ad, looking for other musicians to play with. The response was really surprising, four female singers replied independently from one another. Individually, of course. Not four at once.
I'm meeting them next week-end, starting on Friday 27th, but I have no idea how to play the guitar as accompaniment for singers, having always played the voice part on the guitar.
So I'm in a jam and I'm freaking out a bit. Could you help me explaining to me what the fuck to do?
I suppose I should just learn playing chord-progressions and repeat them endlessly, but which are the progressions I should keep an eye on, what do I do to prevent fatigue, how do I figure out which chords go well together and so on?
Also, can I just use a capo to get closer to her key, or do I have to learn how to transpose chord progressions to more easily approximate her vocal range?
I can practice at least eight hours a day next week, and I want to make it count.
Cheers guys!
 
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Hello!
To figure out which chords go well together, you need to learn some modes. What do I mean by that? To get there we need to know keys first.
A musical key, take for example C has the following chords C D E F G A B. It's one of the simplest, thanks to no sharps or flats. Each of those chords has a Roman number attached to it, starting from C. So, here, C would be I and F would be IV
This is important because knowing this helps you create almost innumerable progressions.
One of the most basic blues progressions is I IV V. In the key of C that's C F G. You've probably played that before, it sounds awesome.
You could experiment, or look at a list of the most common ones and play them in different keys and strumming patterns
To spice things up a bit you could insert sevenths here and there (C7,E7,A7 etc). These sound especially good at the end of a progression, in my opinion.
Then there's minor chords. The relative minor of a major chord is found 3 half steps down. Take G. You go through F# and F and arrive at E. So Em is the relative of G. You can replace the G in your I IV V progression so it looks like C F Em, another classic. Experiment with that!
The above is also true for keys. The relative minor of the C key is Am.
Preventing fatigue is all about using just enough force on your left hand that your chords sound clear. Try to find that optimum pressure and don't go above it. On your right hand try to not make unnecesary motions. Keep your strumming as tight as possible and keep your hand moving at all times(!)
I don't like capos. I sometimes replace them with either bar chords, where applicable or by transposing. You should maintain that practice, because it allows you to grow your chord vocabulary. The capo is the easy way out, the lazy way.
I hope that just about covers it
Good luck!
Corrected a typo, glad you like it!
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Man, this is such a great reply so shortly after I posted this blog, thank you so so much!
Though doubtlessly gold, I elect to neglect (lol) your advice about the capo for now, given the short time until I have to present something passable, I should take any short-cut I can get. In the long run, however, I think your advice should prove very valuable.
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It might be good to use your present strengths even as you improve in other areas. Even though it's not conventional, maybe one of the singers will be interested in a different style with two voices? It sounds very interesting to have guitar backup that also does call and repeat or a duet type style.
It will depend a lot on whether they already have songs they know and want to do or if they want to invent new music.
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learn how to play A major barre, A minor barre, E major barre, E minor barre. Get a pick. Play these four barre chords in different places and strum the pick over the strings. Loosen your left hand when you want to mute the strings and make a chunkachunka sound. Now you know how to play rhythm guitar!
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Now the same without the condescension and we're cooking with fire.
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it's not condescension! That's really just about all there is to rhythm guitar!
just gotta go do it and play around with it. You will figure out about keys and stuff naturally because when it is wrong it will sound wrong.
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On September 22 2013 05:25 EatThePath wrote:
It might be good to use your present strengths even as you improve in other areas. Even though it's not conventional, maybe one of the singers will be interested in a different style with two voices? It sounds very interesting to have guitar backup that also does call and repeat or a duet type style.
It will depend a lot on whether they already have songs they know and want to do or if they want to invent new music.
I agree wholeheartedly. Maybe you'll be more unique with counterpoint melodies.
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On September 22 2013 06:30 sam!zdat wrote:
it's not condescension! That's really just about all there is to rhythm guitar!
just gotta go do it and play around with it. You will figure out about keys and stuff naturally because when it is wrong it will sound wrong.
Sorry, didn't mean to be so touchy, I just took it as a jibe at my instrument. 
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no no, I play guitar also! And I'm highly mediocre at it.
you will have a blast, playing with people >>> playing by yourself
but really, barr chords are your friend. Just start with those four and you can mix it up later when you become more confident
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It's not like I don't know bar chords, I obviously have to know most of the shapes for fingerstyle as well, it's just a whole different matter to put them together and strum them in some seemingly random fashion.
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You can use a capo, but ideally she will be able to match the guitar's voice. I think just practicing a few basic loop rhythms like you would find on a drum machine or an electric keyboard would prepare you enough. Fingerstyle seems much more advanced to me than rhythm-based playing, but of course your arm will probably get more of a workout.
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if you'll play an e major to start, you can play the a major on that fret and then a whole step up. That is the I IV V. Then you can center some progression around those and play around with some other chords like a minor II or minor VI or minor III or whatever.
really just pick four chords, strum them in sequence at let other people play with you. Just experiment and don't worry too much about being right (but the I IV V is a good base to orient yourself)
how experienced are the others and what instruments
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Maybe I should try posting an ad sounds like a sweet deal
Just do what they ask you to do and don't fuck up the rhythm. theory stuff is nice but optional since you can just play chords you know sound good without it. With no rhythm you'll sound amateurish at best, you might want to get out that metronome. Maybe you'll just need condoms though
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oh lol it is just him and some singers...
good luck with that!
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On September 22 2013 07:39 sam!zdat wrote:
oh lol it is just him and some singers...
good luck with that!
No no no!
It's four individual singers, not four of them at once. I certainly wouldn't be up for that, might as well be the metronome for an acapella group.
I'm meeting four of them over the course of a week, one at a time.
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yeah I'm just saying that makes it harder. I'm bad at reading and was giving you advice for playing with a band. Jamming with a band and accompanying a singer are different beasts.
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On September 22 2013 07:59 sam!zdat wrote:
yeah I'm just saying that makes it harder. I'm bad at reading and was giving you advice for playing with a band. Jamming with a band and accompanying a singer are different beasts.
Yeah, I'm feeling lost already.
Playing fingerstyle alone, I always have the bass-line go guide me through a song.
Missing that, I've no idea what's going on.
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well hopefully they have songs they want to sing and know how to tell you the chords!
otherwise maybe go find some tabs for songs you like with lyrics and have those prepared.. Idk I don't play that style of music. Gl!
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EPT
