Guitar Chords with basslines

The type of chord progression we're looking at here is very common in music. The good news is that once you've learned it you can apply it in literally dozens of songs. I'll list some of these below. The slash symbol means chord, different bassnote, or C with a B bass for example.

C C/B Am Am/G F - Play each chord twice

On guitar start with a

C chord: fret 1 string 2, fret 2 string 4, fret 3 string 5.

(String 1 is the thinnest, string 6 is the thickest)

C/B : fret 1 string 2, fret 2 string 5

Am7 : fret 1 string 2 , fret 2 string 4

Am/G : same, add fret 3 string 6

F : fret 1 string 2, fret 2, string 3 fret 3, string 4

NB:Your first finger stays on string 2, fret 1 the whole time.

Need help with basic guitar chords? You might find my other hub guitar chords 101 useful. It's got pictures of most essential guitar chords.

There is also a new hub called Guitar - advanced and jazz chords.

It works equally well on piano. Here is a video clip of this sort of progression on piano, played by our Norah. No, not Norah Batty.

Those of you with a curious disposition might notice:

• We're using chords from the C harmonised scale, which is C Dm Em F G Am Bdim C.
• We're connecting chords smoothly by using steps from the C major scale, C D E F G A B C
  

This is called a diatonic progression, because it only uses diatonic notes, the notes of the major scale. In the key of C that would be CDEFGABC. So we are connecting up the chords in the key of C with bassnotes from the major scale. This works well for songwriting, and owes a lot to JS Bach. (Air on a G string is possibly one of the earlest examples of the progression, and still one of the best.) It gives the chord progression a logic and predictability that is comforting  -which is probably why it has been used so often.

Some variation on this descending bass idea is used in the following songs:

Don't Think Twice, it's Alright

America,

No Woman No Cry,

For No-one,

Tears in Heaven,

A Whiter shade of Pale,

Shoot the Moon,

The Boxer,

Only livin' boy in New York,

Penny Lane.

Tip: try to emphasize the bass note, hitting it a little more than the rest of the chord.

Another Tip: Using a capo at fret 3 will really brighten up the tone, and also make the stretches much easier. An important aspect to the sound of Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor and other greats.

Now, let's move this progression to another key, also known as Transposing.

In the key of D we'd have D, D/C# Bm7, Bm7/A, G, D/F#, Em7, A7 as a typical descending bass chord progression. You'll find elements of this in many James Taylor songs, such as Fire and Rain, Anywhere Like Heaven, Jack Johnson's Better Together and many other songs.