Common Guitar Voicings
‘The following exercises simply connect the five patterns of major seventh, minor seventh, and domi-
rant seventh chord shapes up and down the fingerboard. The three exercises below use C as the root,
but you should practice them until they are comfortable in all twelve keys. Play in half notes (two clicks of
the metronome and two foot taps per chord) at a moderate tempo (80 bpm). Strive for smooth chord
‘connections from each position to the next.
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Here are the most common chord voicings for the guitar. Most have the root in the bass, Examine the
chord tones in each voicing as well as the fingerings. Begin to compare and contrast the voicings and
notice how many only differ by one or two notes. You'll be able to memorize a voicing if you can clearly
‘see the scale underneath it.
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