Why Strumming Ruins These Chords
30sGuitar players know the frustration of muddy chords, and this clip reveals the exact right-hand cause.
▶ Play ClipAI Summary
This video teaches guitarists how to use the right hand to produce clear, defined chord sounds for 10th intervals. The instructor explains why strumming muddies these voicings and demonstrates the pinch method as the preferred technique, using a G chord as an example.
Chapters
[00:01]
Finding Interesting Chord Sequences
Changing up the order of chords makes the progression sound less like a scale and adds musical interest.
[00:16]
Activating Chords with the Right Hand
The right hand is used to activate chords, but rhythmic picking patterns are avoided to keep 10th intervals clear.
[00:29]
Why Strumming Fails for 10th Intervals
Since 10th intervals stretch across unused strings, strumming them resonates all strings and defeats the purpose of clarity.
[00:59]
G Chord Example: Pinch vs. Strum
Pinching the G chord with two fingers gives a lovely clear sound, while strumming creates a muddy mess.
[01:13]
The Pinch Method
The essential right-hand technique for these chords is the pinch method, involving plucking the two notes instead of strumming.
Tutorial Checklist
1
00:16
Play 10th interval chords using only the right hand to activate the strings, avoiding rhythmic picking patterns for clarity.
2
00:29
Do not strum these chords; instead, pinch the two interval notes together to prevent unused strings from resonating.
3
01:13
Use the pinch method with your thumb and one finger to pluck the two notes simultaneously for a clean sound.
Study Flashcards (3)
What is the recommended right-hand technique for playing 10th interval chords?
easy
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What is the recommended right-hand technique for playing 10th interval chords?
easy
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The pinch method — plucking the two notes together with the thumb and a finger instead of strumming.
01:13
Why does strumming 10th interval chords produce a muddy sound?
medium
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Why does strumming 10th interval chords produce a muddy sound?
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Because the intervals stretch across unused strings, and strumming causes all those other strings to resonate, creating muddiness.
00:43
What is the effect of changing the order of chords in a progression?
easy
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What is the effect of changing the order of chords in a progression?
easy
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It makes the progression sound less like a running scale and adds musical interest.
00:01
💡 Key Takeaways
⚖️
Strumming Defeats the Purpose
Explains a key mistake when playing chord intervals — strumming causes unwanted string resonance and muddies the sound.
00:29
🔧
Pinch vs. Strum Demonstration
Clearly demonstrates the contrast between the clean pinch sound and the messy strumming sound on a G chord.
00:59
💡
The Pinch Method Defined
Names and summarizes the core technique the entire lesson is built around, making it easy to remember and apply.
01:13Full Transcript
[00:01] laid out, we then want to play around with some interesting movement between changing up the order so it doesn't sound like we're just running a scale. We want to find some interesting chord sequences. And whilst we're doing this,
[00:16] way we're activating these chords with the right hand. So far, I've been avoiding using any kind of rhythmic picking pattern because I'm trying to represent these 10th intervals as clearly as possible. But now that we're
[00:29] starting to look at them in the context of songwriting, we can certainly bring this hand into play. And because these intervals are actually stretching across strings that aren't being used, strumming them doesn't really work. It
[00:43] kind of defeats the purpose. What we want is a lovely clear sound, an strumming and playing all of those other strings, it really gets muddy very quickly. So this G chord for example, if I'm just pinching it with these two
[00:59] fingers, we get that lovely clear sound. If I strum it, we get all of those other strings resonating and it becomes a mess. So the technique we're really employing with these kinds of chords is this pinch kind
[01:13] these kinds of chords is this pinch kind of method with the right hand.
