Cool Guitar Chords Lesson - Play These Cool Guitar Chords To Impress Your Friends

Guitar Songwriting Tip #2: Use Voice Leading To Make Your Guitar Chords Sound 10x Better

Once you know which chords go into which keys, the next step is learning how to move between them smoothly. 

This is where voice leading comes in. It’s one of the secrets behind great guitar songwriting and pro-sounding chord progressions.

Here is what great voice leading sounds like:

Most beginner guitar players don’t think about voice leading when they change chords… and when they move from chord to chord the notes do not move in a smooth, melodic way. 

(A good example of that is switching from an A minor barre chord on the 5th fret to the F major barre chord on the 1st fret.)

That makes your playing sound choppy. 

To apply smooth voice leading to a chord change, think about the individual notes (voices) in each chord and challenge yourself to move each note the shortest distance possible to get to the note in the next chord. (Or, if possible, stay the same.)

For example:

A better way to switch between the A minor and F major guitar chords would be to think about the individual notes in each chord (A C E and F A C, respectively).

Then, you would see that there are 2 notes in common between the chords: A and C. To achieve the smoothest voice leading in your guitar songwriting, keep those notes in the same place… and move the E note up 1 half step (1 fret) up to F.

Notice how smooth this voice leading sounds, compared to the 6-string barre chords most guitarists play. 

Here is another example: 

Start with a C major chord (C - E - G). Now go to A minor (A - C - E). These chords share two notes: C and E. So, instead of changing the whole shape, you just move the G down to A. 

Everything else stays the same.

Try this mini exercise:

1. Pick any two chords that are in the same key.
   
   
2. Play the first one, then ask: which notes can I keep the same?
   
   
3. Ask: which notes need to move, and what’s the smallest movement possible?
   
   
4. Make the chord change to the second guitar chord and listen to how smooth it sounds.

Now, do this with 3 or 4 chords in a row. You’ll be amazed how much better your guitar chord progressions sound when you use voice leading.

Watch this video to see an example of smooth guitar songwriting using voice leading:

Guitar Songwriting Tip #3: Add Notes To The Chords.

One of the fastest ways to make your chords for guitar sound cooler is to extend basic triads (3-note major and minor chords) with other notes from the scale. 

Best part: You don’t need to know complex music theory or use crazy finger stretches. 

Here are a few simple examples:

1. Fret an open A minor chord. Next, release the ring finger from the G string (so it rings open). You’re now playing A minor 7th chord, by inserting the 7th note of the A minor scale into the chord. Best part is: this guitar chord is even easier to play than the original A minor guitar chord shape. 
   
   
2. Fret an open C major chord. Now, add your pinky to the 3rd fret of the B string to add the 9th of the C major scale into the chord. That gives you a C add9 chord. Same idea as the first example - a very simple variation on the basic major chord.
   
   
3. Fret an open C major chord (yes, again). Now, release the index finger from the B string. This shape is much easier to play than the standard C major chord and gives you the lush sound of the C major 7th chord.
   
   
4. Play an F major barre chord across all 6 strings… but don’t fret the top 2 strings (B and high E). This adds the 7th and the #11 notes into the chord and creates the F major 7 add #11 guitar chord. (The name might sound complicated, but it’s a very simple guitar chord to play.)
   
   
5. Play an open E minor chord… add the 3rd fret of the B string (the 7th of the E minor scale). This creates an E minor 7th chord. 
   
   
6. Play an open A minor. Now, release the ring finger from the 2nd fret of the G string and stretch your pinkie to fret the 4th fret on that string. This adds the 9th to the chord and creates a beautiful haunting, melancholy sound of a minor add 9 chord.

How to use extended chords in your guitar playing and guitar songwriting?

Go through other guitar chord progressions you’re used to playing and replace some of the major and minor chords with the extended chord ideas listed above. 

This is where having a good knowledge of the fretboard will be incredibly helpful. 

Guitar Songwriting Tip #4: Improvise Using Chords For Guitar

Most guitar players think of improvising as playing guitar solos. 

But you can also improvise with rhythm and with guitar chord variations. That’s a powerful (and easy) way to make your guitar playing sound more musical.

Here’s how to do it:

Pick 2 or 3 chords you already know. For example: 

C - G - Am

Instead of playing them the same way each time, start improvising with how you play them. 

Try this:

- First, strum each chord once and let it ring.

- Then, play the chord by picking each note at a time (this is called ‘arpeggiating’ the chord). .

- On the third round, strum the guitar chords again, but change something about the rhythm.

- Next, play one chord as an arpeggio, and 2 others - with a different strumming pattern.

- Then, add or remove notes (like you learned in Tip #3).

- Find new places on the guitar fretboard to play the chords.

- Use rubato when strumming to expand or contract the time and make your guitar playing sound less mechanical.

Watch this video to see and hear how rubato sounds:

As you improvise with guitar chords, you’ll come up with new ways to play guitar chords you already know. 

This gives you new guitar songwriting ideas and helps you create new guitar chord progressions to write guitar solos over.

Guitar Songwriting Tip #5: Practice Writing Songs… For The Trash Can.

Most guitar players struggle with songwriting, because they’re afraid what they create won’t be good. 

They put so much pressure on themselves to create awesome, album-ready songs, that they procrastinate on writing songs at all. 

But the problem is… to become great at guitar songwriting, you need to get a lot of reps in with writing a lot of music.

So, here’s what to do:

Mentally separate the act of ‘practicing’ songwriting from ‘writing songs’.

In the former, you give yourself permission to write “throwaway” songs that nobody will ever hear (i.e. write for the trash can).

Have guitar songwriting sessions where your goal is to focus on quantity over quality. (Yes, you read correctly.)

The purpose of practicing songwriting is to build your confidence as a songwriter and experiment with new ways to use guitar chords (as well as melody, rhythm, texture, timbre and other musical elements).

In the process, you’ll often come up with musical sections and guitar songwriting ideas you like a lot (even if you don’t manage to come up with finished songs).

And when it’s time to actually ‘write songs’ for your next album?

You’ll have more skills to draw on to actually write awesome songs you’d feel proud of.

Watch this video to learn more about ‘practicing’ songwriting for guitar:

Now that you know how to improve your guitar songwriting with cool guitar chord ideas, I want to help you relax excess muscle tension in your guitar technique and make everything about your guitar playing feel easier, sound better and become more accurate. I show you how in my free on-demand master class Total Guitar Playing Tension Control. Watch it today and discover the guitar playing secrets most guitarists will never know.