Vertical Truth: Chordal Mechanisms for the Guitar
Unit 1: Cowboy Chords
A Deep Dive into 1st Position
Fingerings & Application
Last week you received 3 emails/videos from Master Guitar School:
In the first email, I explained what I mean by the term, "Cowboy Chords" - it's a synonym for "1st-position chords that use open strings" - and why my approach to teaching them is different from what you see elsewhere.
I included a 30-second video that gives you an idea of what the PDF looks like:
Take a Look at the PDF:
I explained that the PDF download contains:
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15 lessons in 41 pages
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8 links to other, related free lessons
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197 fretboard diagrams and other graphics
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15 video links
Chord progressions are given in the PDF &/or the videos for these songs:
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Refugee - Tom Petty
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Born on the Bayou - Creedence Clearwater Revival
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Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival
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What I Like About You - The Romantics
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Toes - Zac Brown Band
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Another Saturday Night - Sam Cooke
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With a Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles
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Save Tonight - Eagle Eye Cherry
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Stand by Me - Ben E. King
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Silhouette - The Four Seasons
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Dream - The Everly Brothers
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Every Breath You Take - The Police
I also gave you part of the first lesson which included 2 different fingerings for G and some technique guidance. There were also links to other related free lessons. So you don't get just the chords, you get technique guidance as well as links to multiple free lessons. Here's the video from the first email:
In the 2nd email, I gave you 3 more fingerings for G, including a fingering I use all the time; what I call a, "4-Fingered G."
Here's the video:
I also answered several common concerns, among which was:
Q: Can't 1st-position chords be found all over the place with a simple search? What makes yours different?
A: Here's what makes my approach different (better!):
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I give multiple fingering options for the same chord...and explain why one fingering is preferable to another... in a given context.
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I define and deal with common technique issues and fingering problems with the chords that people typically have issues with - like F.
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Related to the above: Bar chords (like B minor and F# minor) are avoided and workarounds given which sound just as good or better than the bar chords - and are easier to play.
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My fretboard diagrams aren’t just lines with black dots. I give each note its voicing - root, 3rd, 5th and so on. Furthermore, the notes are color-coded. I’m not going to go into the concept or psychology of that right now but the color scheme for the various notes is deliberate and consistent.
Q: 197 fretboard diagrams seems overwhelming.
A: I get it. Yeah, it's a lot. However, I should qualify that many of the diagrams are of the same chord, but are different fingerings. There can be multiple ways to finger a chord. Pick just one of each chord then. There are plenty of million-dollar guitar-playing singer-songwriters who play G the same way every single time they play it.
Also, a chord diagram is given when I first give you the chord, and then may be given again in the context of a progression. So it's not like there are 197 different chords, just 197 chord diagrams.
There are actually 41 different chords - that's still a lot, but not near as many as 197! In hindsight, I probably gave a wrong impression with that 197 number.
I give you the variations I do because there are those who want them, plus it demonstrates that I know what I'm talking about, dig? After all, I did say, "deep dive."
In the third email, I gave you two more fingerings derived from the G5 above, plus 2 fingerings for G7...AND...a stand-alone video on the "Frog-Leg G."
Here's the video from the 3rd email:
So...you get explanatory text, fretboard diagrams, links to not just one, but many, related free lessons, AND a total of 15 videos, as well as a joke or two.
Because all the above deals with basically a single chord, and you need more than one chord for most songs (there are actually several hit songs I can think of that use a single chord), I have not given you any chord progressions on this page. But notice in the first section of this page I gave a list of songs covered in this lesson series:
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Refugee - Tom Petty
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Born on the Bayou - Creedence Clearwater Revival
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Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival
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What I Like About You - The Romantics
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Toes - Zac Brown Band
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Another Saturday Night - Sam Cooke
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With a Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles
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Save Tonight - Eagle Eye Cherry
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Stand by Me - Ben E. King
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Silhouette - The Four Seasons
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Dream - The Everly Brothers
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Every Breath You Take - The Police
There are many progressions given in this lesson series; it's the main way I put the chords into context.
Here's the Deal
The retail price for Cowboy Chords is $99.
With the Site Member Discount - $59.
Special Launch Price - $49!
This Special Launch Price is good for only 5 days. The Cowboy Chords launch will close Friday, December 15 at midnight, CST.
Wait...There's More!
We can take the cowboy chord concept and go waaay beyond anything the singing cowboys imagined!
Check this out...using Cowboy Chords G, C, and D, we can add various other notes to create beautiful sounding chords:
So I've created a special 5-lesson series that does this same thing with all the chords in the Cowboy Chords PDF. It's called, Cowboy Chords: 1st Position Unique Voicings.
It has:
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5 lessons
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13 pages
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40 fretboard diagrams
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5 videos
The 5th lesson is Application: I show you how to take a song normally played with Cowboy Chords and use the various additions to them to inject a typical-sounding tune with new and unusual-sounding textures! The songs I cover are:
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Stand By Me - Ben E. King
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Wonderwall - Oasis
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Waiting on the World to Change - John Mayer
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Good Riddance - Green Day
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My City of Ruins - Bruce Springsteen
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Toes - Zac Brown Band
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Overkill - Men at Work
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Marrakesh Express - Crosby, Stills & Nash
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Take Me to the Mardi Gras - Paul Simon
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The Man Who Sold the World - David Bowie (or Nirvana if the '90's was your thing)
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The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix
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Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
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Brandy - Looking Glass
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Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
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Copperline - James T aylor
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Dream - Everly Brothers
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Every Breath You Take - the Police
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Tupelo Honey - Van Morrison
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Have I Told You Lately That I Love You - Van Morrison
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Crazy Love - Van Morrison
For this launch only - with the purchase of Cowboy Chords, I'm offering Cowboy Chords: 1st Position Unique Voicings for only $10!
So for $59 you get the Cowboy Chords Combo-Pak of BOTH PDFs!
5-Lesson Foundational Series
These 5 lessons are presupposed by almost everything I teach. This foundation is so important I give it away for free all over the place. This lesson series will give you 3 things:
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A method to find any note, anywhere and everywhere on the guitar neck without memorizing the note names on every string; it's a beautiful thing.
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A mechanism that ensures that you practice in every position, in every key; also a beautiful thing.
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It organically trains your ear and brain to recognize cycles of 4ths, which is one of the main ways chords move in music.
You can download the 5-Lesson Foundational Series for FREE; no purchase required! All you have to do is enter your email address for the download. BTW, I already have your email address or you wouldn't be reading this!
To sum up the options:
Special Launch Price - $49!
Good for December 11-15, 2023.
The Cowboy Chords launch will close Friday, December 15 at midnight, CST.
Cowboy Combo-Pak - $59!
Good for December 11-15, 2023.
The Cowboy Chords launch will close Friday, December 15 at midnight, CST.
You can download the 5-Lesson Foundational Series for FREE;
no obligation or purchase required!
One last thing:
You are already a Site Member or you wouldn't be reading this. However, I would like to emphasize a couple of things from, "Why Become a Site Member?"
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Skype/FaceTime Consults: I call this a "consult" rather than a "lesson" for several reasons. This consult is an on-demand deal for site members. It can be used for whatever you want - anything related to guitar or lessons that you've viewed, purchased &/or downloaded from Master Guitar School; it can be used as a feedback loop to make sure you understand the lesson and are drilling it correctly. The price is $35.00 and the guaranteed default time is 30 minutes. I am willing to spend extra time at no extra charge if necessary and if my schedule allows. As a site member you can use this option whenever you feel the need.
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Personal Response to Questions via Email: If your question can be adequately dealt with via email I will give Site Members personal attention at no charge.
Comprende? When you purchase guitar lessons from me you commit to a process; I commit to lead you through it. Questions? Contact me:
