Doe a Deer (warning, Sound of Music content)

viz

Hello chaps,

Sorry if I've come across like I'm over-theorising, it's just that I enjoy playing different inversions to achieve the right chord voicings with the right bass note, and the Doe a Deer song is great for practising that skill. And then so are many other songs such as We are the Champions, What a wonderful world, and many others.

It's pretty apparent that the way I'm describing it is not conveying it properly and it's probably because my descriptions are a mixture of home-grown and classical - I missed out the step of actually learning the guitar and traditional guitar-based language. But it's not trying to be numberwang (love the description!), it really is a useful way of thinking and it's great to practise. Maybe I'll do a video that might be simpler.

frankus

Hi, I'm probably coming over as grumpier than I am. I've been watching a lot of Mitchell and Webb so I find it easy to drift into a David Mitchell exasperated whine...

I get that some people on this thread understand what it is your describing and it's fair that you guys discuss this.

I also appreciate that describing stuff for other people is a proper ball-ache.

And I appreciated that describing stuff well for other people is a proper proper ball ache

viz

I will deff have a go at a vid in the weekend.

MatthewShreddery

I take it my video is of no help then?

I know not all the chords I did in the video were not from that song.

To be honest, when I first read this thread I had no idea it was about the song from The Sound of Music.

I just picked up on the pattern in the first post and new of a little pattern I'd learnt somewhere along the way.

I'm not sure if @frankus points are directed at me - this isn't my thread so I hope not. 

viz

Hey, yes, cheers, good video - they're good for the normal do re mi progression, but as you mentioned, they're not from Doe a Deer - I should have probably made that clearer at the very start! anyway, onwards and upwards.

viz

Oh - that's you? nice playing. nice guitar.

viz

Right I had a go at a picture of what I've been trying to go on about. Not sure if it's readable but here it is:

http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab217/Vizzage/Picture4_zpsfmgkr4eb.jpg

I realise now that the inversions are an uncommon way of describing these voicings in guitar. However for me, knowing the inversions in the traditional format, ie. root, 1st, 2nd etc., is a really really useful step in being able to play harmony more easily. I know most guitarists go with the E/G# format, because it's a useful naming device for a specific chord, but the generic approach of saying E 1st inversion is to my mind so much more applicable in any situation. It means you can apply it to any chord - it's much easier to snap immediately to C# 1st anywhere on the fretboard than to try and work out what and where C#/F is. And it says so much more about the chord's harmonic purpose.

It also offers an alternative to CAGED. If you're talking harmonically you'd say E can be played as root, 1st or 2nd inversion (so 0 2 2 1 0 0, 4 7 6 4 5 4, and 7 7 9 9 9 7) - ie. E-style chords, C-style chords and A-style chords; and A can be played in root, 1st or 2nd (so x 0 2 2 2 0, x 4 2 2 2 5, and x 7 7 9 10 9) - ie. A-style, G-style and D-style. This helps not only in finding the voicing more quickly, but also gets you into the habit of being able to recognise the inversions and therefore the sound of the bass within the chord.

I think ECA, AGD is much more harmonically and musically-oriented than CAGED, which is more fretboard-oriented. Imo