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The Beauty Of Open Position
Introduction
This first plateau is a reminder of why open position on the guitar is so compelling. There can be a tendency for some to neglect these chords in favor of voicings higher up the neck. This chapter is a plea to not eschew these timeless classics. Certainly, there are some guitarists who never leave first position — props to them. But for those who have perhaps become overly enamored with all the possibilities up the rest of the neck, here’s a reminder of why open position is great.
Economy Of Movement
There’s a reason beginning guitarists start here: it is the easiest place on the neck to play.
First, it is the least difficult in terms of finger strength. On most guitars, the higher up the neck you go, the more finger strength it takes, due to string tension. But in open position, fretting the strings is easier due to less tension on the neck. And in many cases, open strings are used, so no finger strength is required at all!
Second, there is less chance of intonation problems, which can arise at higher frets — both because of potential intonation issues inherent in the guitar itself, and intonation problems introduced by the player pushing down too hard or slightly bending the string out of tune.
Third, open position chords require no pinky, making them more approachable so that the player doesn’t have to develop pinky strength right away. This freedom from the pinky also holds true for scales and single-note lines. C major/A minor scales can be played entirely using open strings and the first three frets. The same holds true for G major/E minor.
Harmonic Lushness And Resonance
Sonically, open position chords sound great due to the inherent volume that open strings produce, getting the biggest sound out of the instrument. Plucking strings without the interruption of flesh pressing against metal always gives more volume than fretted notes. And even fretted notes are louder due to basic physics: the longer the string, the louder the sound.
Practice
- Play every “cowboy” chord: C, D, E, Am, Em, G, F, A, Dm. Let them ring. Make them sound great. Remember how amazing they are!
Also, the chord shapes can be played strumming all six strings, which means tripling octaves and creating a big sound. Overtones easily emerge as the harmonics interact with each other. Soloing in open position can also benefit from these open strings. Harmonies and intervals come naturally without awkward positions. Countless great-sounding bluegrass licks are based on the premise of taking advantage of open position scales.
Practice
- Play a C major scale from the low A to the high E string. But always let a bass note ring out while you play. Notice all the harmonies that fall out for free.
Voice Leading
An observation about chords in open position: you get voice leading for free! This is because you’re staying in a single position, so by design, you can’t move to the same shape higher up the neck. The movement between voices in the chords tends to follow classical principles without the guitarist having to know anything about voice leading at all.
If you don’t know what voice leading is, there are innumerable sources that can delve into it, but the fundamental concept is moving to the next chord with the fewest leaps possible. If you ever wondered why G7 to C sounds so good, there’s your reason!
Practice
- Play some classic chord progressions in open position and notice the voice leading you get for free. For example, play C - Am - Dm - G and notice which fingers move and which don’t.
Conclusion
Don’t sleep on open position! In future chapters, we’ll look at other tricks for enhancing open position, but even the stock “cowboy chords” shouldn’t be forgotten. In the spirit of getting the most out of the guitar based on what the instrument wants to do, staying in open position fits that theme. I remember seeing Bill Frisell in concert and the final chord he played to end the show was a big, fat C chord in first position.