In April of 2017 I started the Unique Chord Voicings lesson series as the free lesson giveaway in the Master Guitar School monthly newsletter. A year later I published Altered States - Unique Voicings wherein I explained what I mean by the term, "Unique Voicings" and the impetus behind my search for them.
In short, the motivation was the desire to get an altered tuning sound in standard tuning. I got into various altered tunings for several years, analyzed why they sounded the way they did and figured out how to get that sound in standard tuning.
I call the result "Unique Voicings" because it usually involves open strings and so cannot be transposed. The context for the term is very guitaristic; they are available in only one position on a single root - thus the term "Unique."
Back when I started the Unique Voicings free lesson series, I thought there would be maybe 8 or 10 lessons. I was using my book, Unique Chord Voicings, published in 1999 as an outline and I quickly realized that I have reams more material now than what's in the book - the book became a bare-bones outline and the new lesson series became the vehicle for codifying all the material I have come up with since I wrote the book over 20 years ago.
Though initially applied to steel string acoustic guitar, I've since applied Unique Voicings to all kinds of music and all kinds of guitars, steel-string acoustic, classical and electric. Unique Chord Voicings have become an integral part of the way I play today.
You can find many of the chords I cover in all kinds of music, from Ozzy and Metallica to classical guitar pieces to jazz guitarists.
Plus, I've come up with some voicings I haven't heard anyone else use!
Be that as it may, here is the video to the first lesson to give you an idea; these two chord shapes are the easiest to play and some of the chords produced are very complex and cool-sounding. It's the best of everything! Easy to play, cool-sounding!
Believe me when I say this is just the tip of the iceberg!
The Unique Chord Voicings lesson series is a PDF download that has:
32 lessons
155 pages
1,303 Fretboard diagrams
35 video links
Excuse me, did you say one thousand three hundred and three fretboard diagrams?!?
Yes, I did.
Isn't that a bit overwhelming?
Well, yes, if you don't know any of it and try to wrap your brain around it all at once.
But that's not the way to learn anything. Take it slow and in small chunks, getting the most out of every little piece.
Take the first lesson given in the video above; you could spend months on the various chords - figuring out how you want to use them, discovering them in songs you've always wondered how to play and realizing there are many million-dollar songs that use them.
There are 14 different chords given...BUT...there's only two chord shapes!
SO...that's not 1,303 chord shapes. A single shape can get moved around to 12 possible roots. Divide 1,303 by 12 and you get about 108. Not as voluminous as it first appears, yes?
And if the first lesson is all you did, and it notched your playing up a level, then that one single lesson in-and-of-itself is priceless to you - and it's gratifying to me because I have helped you to be a better guitarist - and you haven't spent a dime!
Then think about what the next lesson might offer - and the next - and the next - all 32 of them!
Think about it, but don't worry about it; remember, it's the tortoise that wins the race. One thing at a time; slow, steady and persistent is the best way to learn to play.
So don't be overwhelmed; be excited!
Unique Chord Voicings will be released only to MasterGuitarSchool.com Site Members for a massive discount one week before being made available to the general public for the full price. It is a PDF download and here's what it looks like:
In addition, over the course of 10 days preceding the launch, I will be sending 3 emails to Site Members with tons of free content from the Unique Chord Voicings lesson series. Even if you don't avail yourself of the download, just the content in the 3 emails will deliver a ton of stuff.
If you have any interest in this series of lessons then Sign up as a Master Guitar School site member! Sign-up is free and gets you access to this one-time discount when this lesson series is launched in 3 weeks - to Site Members only!
Sign up as a Master Guitar School site member - it's free! - and get access to dozens of free site-based lessons, a monthly newsletter that contains a brand-new free lesson, and DEEP discounts on lesson series downloads - plus more!
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