An 8Unassisted Music Block – 8 Guitar Chords For 8 Cords

Posted January 17, 2023 by theribbe

I have been playing guitar for about 20 years now. Admittedly, I am a novice player at best but I can carry a novice tune with the best of them novice guitarists. I love blues, folk, rock music and over the years I have learned how to play hundreds of easy tunes on the guitar. I can read music, from my teenage days of piano lessons. However, I love the concept of tablature or tabs to help get me playing right away.

I also love the English language and challenging myself to write creative posts. I was thinking about the word “chord” and a light went off in my tiny brain. What if I put together my favorite 8 guitar chords and matched them with 8 of my favorite words with the word “cord” in them and found a common “chord” that ties them to each other into an 8Unasssited Music Block? Yes, I sit around my house, my office, the bike path, in the grocery store thinking of creative ideas like this. Don’t you?

8 Guitar Chords For 8 Cords

Dm – According to Eric Clapton, “Every time you pick up your guitar to play, play as if its your last time.” Dm or D Minor is a recurring chord in my favorite acoustic guitar song, “Layla,” which features the great Eric Clapton.

Bm – In the Eagles song, “Hotel California” which features the Bm or B Minor chord, there is a lyric that goes – “Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice…” Offering a guest a delicious glass of champagne (doesn’t have to be pink) in your home or wacky hotel is a cordial way of welcoming them into your world.

Bm11 – One thing my generation has with the younger generation? We both had cordless phones. My cordless phone had a range of about 10 feet. This next generation of sons and daughters has a range of unlimited feet. “Daughters” by John Mayer is an amazing song to learn and play on guitar and starts off with the very soothing Bm11 or B Minor 11th chord.

Cheat F – I took a guitar lesson some years back and the teacher asked me to play a tune I knew. I played “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals and used a Cheat F (not barring the first fret, chord after D in the song) and my teacher shook his head “No!!!” F is also the first letter in the word French. The French phrase Cordon Bleu means “blue ribbon,” which I did not receive from my music teacher.

F#m – One of my favorite documentary films of all time features the story behind the Muscle Shoals Recording Studio. It is must see for any music fan and features the incredible musical history and lineup that graced the Alabama studio, including the contributions by the late, great Duane Allman. Duane and the Allman Bros Band are responsible for so many great tunes, including “Melissa,” which features a ton of beautiful chords, including the F#m or F Sharp Minor chord.

Em7 – The concept idea and joint manufacturing of the now retired Concorde airliner originated in England. As did the idea, collaboration, and now disbanded English rock band, Oasis, who crafted one of my favorite acoustic songs to play, “Wonderwall.” featuring the Em7 chord. And it sounds great with a capo.

B5, A5, E5, D5 – Say and play those chords a thousand times a minute and you have one of the coolest guitar song intros, “Thunderstruck,” by AC/DC. Head over to YouTube and search for “Thunderstruck” by Steve’n’Seagulls and you will not be disappointed. Check out the dude riding into the band practice on a tractor with his trusty Accordion by his side. It’s can’t miss YouTube joy!!!!

Chords unknown – One of my favorite things to doodle is a character I call “The Stick Agent.” The Stick Agent travels all over the world to faraway lands to solve mysteries. Sometimes he parachutes off mountains, like the Himalayas, and uses a ripcord to open his chute so he can land on a boat or a bike or a tractor trailer in hot pursuit of the truth. Kashmir is located in the Himalayan region and is also one of the coolest Led Zeppelin songs to learn on guitar. It features alternate tuning, so I actually have no idea what the actual chords are. But it is so fun to play once you get the tuning figured out.

Have a comment or a bunch of cool chords and cords that you would like me to know about? Send me a message and I will listen – accordingly.

8Unassisted Music Blocks acoustic creative writing guitar how to videos live tracks music tabs

theribbe View All →

The RIBBE is The Rhode Island Baseball Experience. It is promoting the game of baseball here in the great state of Rhode Island for the entire baseball world to see. The RIBBE is positive stories, photos, videos, and responsible social media posts. The RIBBE is an information resource for families looking for an AAU team or a summer camp or a great place to buy a first baseman’s mitt. The RIBBE is a network of coaches, tournament directors, parents, leagues, and baseball junkies whose passion of the game of baseball is unquestioned. I believe that providing expert analysis, information and directions to ballfields, and coaching advice from some of the top RI baseball minds will help promote the game of baseball here in RI to a whole new level.