harmonizing guitars

alien · 11-21-2001, 07:47 AM

does anyone know how i could harmonize 2 guitar players? i saw derek webb and his wife in concert, and they were both playing, but playing different chords, etc.... any help would be appreciated .......... jeffq@ilovejesus.net

nate95366 · 11-21-2001, 08:44 AM

Derek and Sandra are most likely to use a handy-dandy little device called a capo. It's basically a clamp that frets all 6 strings wherever you put it on the neck. Its function is to change the location of the "end" of the guitar. If you play a G chord, and have your buddy clamp a capo on the fifth fret and play a "D" chord, your buddy will actually be playing a G chord too, but with different "voicing." His hands will tell him he's playing a D, but the notes he's actually playing will be the notes in a G chord. You'll have a nice, full sound when you play together.....

Make sense?

Nate

alien · 11-21-2001, 08:50 AM

ok, i'm headed down the right road now, but how do i know what chords to play in relation to the other guitarist? if i capo the fifth, that makes a G & D sound similar,how do i know what the other chords would be?

mesabooger · 11-22-2001, 09:41 AM

sometimes two guitarists play same chords just in different neck positions for voicing. And sometimes one guitarist (usually the electric) will play partial chords. There is anothere thread on harmonizing. it's old so you might have to fish it out.

ChrisB88 · 11-23-2001, 07:21 AM

Alien,

To figure out what all of the other chords will be on above the capo on the fifth fret, simply step every chord down 5 half steps. Look at a piano or keyboard if you're not familiar with this:
find G, walk it down 5 HALF steps (white AND black keys) and you get to D, right? Now, do the same for any other chord! Easy, huh?

Now you can do this for ANY "harmonization" using capos! Say you want the capo on the third fret, well... a G would be (k, step down 3 half steps, and you get....) an E!!!

Nifty, eh?

Hope this helps!

In Chris,
Chris

Mickey · 11-23-2001, 07:40 AM

This is almost always how we play during praise & worship at church (with two guitars). I go through the songs beforehand and see where I can put a capo and still play it easily.

For example, if Guitar # 1 was playing:
G D Em C,
then my choices are...

Capo 1 - F# C# D#m B (blech)
Capo 2 - F C Dm Bb (a little better, but still tough)
Capo 3 - E B C#m A (I like these, usually)
Capo 4 - D# Bb Cm G# (blech)
Capo 5 - D A Bm G (not bad at all)
Capo 6 - C# G# Bbm F# (blech)

You can go as high as you want, but I almost never go past 5 or 6. Now that I have them all figured out, I choose the one that is easiest for me to play. In this case, a capo on 3 or 5 would be my best move. Make sense?

IHL,
Mickey

Pete_H · 11-23-2001, 08:13 AM

Cool, I'm glad someone posted about this because I just got a capo last week and have wanting one for awhile now. I just want to add one more question too this. What is a foote capo? I was just at another site and there was a section that had chord positions for a foote capo in A or E but it didn't explain what it was.

supaf · 11-24-2001, 04:31 PM

ya'll have left out my favorite way of harmonizing, octaves. During breaks I'll throw in some octaves to add some extra stuff in there. Listen to New Found Glory (secular, but good) to hear some good octave work.

11-24-2001, 04:38 PM

a little technique my brother taught me when harmonizing guitars is this: use the small end of the capo to cover the first 4 strings on the 2nd fret, leaving the last two strings open. then u can play G, D, and A as one finger chords (capo makes them barrred). it sounds really pretty and using that technique u can eaily harmonize like 6 different guitars. hope that helps!

~Suzi

nate95366 · 11-26-2001, 05:31 PM

originally posted by Pete H:

Quote:

What is a foote capo? I was just at another site and there was a section that had chord positions for a foote capo in A or E but it didn't explain what it was.

Quote:

a little technique my brother taught me when harmonizing guitars is this: use the small end of the capo to cover the first 4 strings on the 2nd fret, leaving the last two strings open. then u can play G, D, and A as one finger chords (capo makes them barrred). it sounds really pretty and using that technique u can eaily harmonize like 6 different guitars. hope that helps!
~Suzi

This is the technique (though not relegated only to the second fret) of using the foot of the capo.....

ShyStrings · 11-29-2001, 09:04 AM

The Foote capo is from B J Foote (You Are My King author). It's just a nick name for it because he started using them, making them more popular once people saw how they could be used.

Harmonizing six guitars...? SIX?? Past three and you've lost the purpose in adding parts: to make it sound better. Guitars only have so many notes, so that many guitars are only doubling the notes the others are playing, not harmonizing with them.