Impossible Howard Roberts Chord

[EGad]

Well when I was studying with Ted Greene I made a comment like that once. Ted put is hand on his leg and started pulling his fingers out further and further. Then said the cartilage will give some and you can stretch out further on the neck. Ted would sometime play some huge chord and then use his nose to hammer on a bass note. Where there's a will there's a way.

I think the way to play this chord is to not have all 4 fingers of the left hand planted on the neck at the same time. As you pick the low note held down by the pinky, the other 3 fingers hover over the fingerboard ready to take their place in succession just as the pick arrives. So, it is less a block chord and more of quick arpeggio. You're welcome.

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[EGad]

I think the way to play this chord is to not have all 4 fingers of the left hand planted on the neck at the same time. As you pick the low note held down by the pinky, the other 3 fingers hover over the fingerboard ready to take their place in succession just as the pick arrives. So, it is less a block chord and more of quick arpeggio. You're welcome.

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OK, I'm gonna quote my own post.

Of course the biggest fear of encountering a chord like this is that an astute audience member is going to call you out as a fraud and shame you in front of everyone for playing only 3 of the 4 notes.

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[Thumpalumpacus]

OP's chord diagram gave me arthritis. And I thought the double-barre Fmaj7 voicing was a bitch.

[Robertkoa]

Another crazy stretch I remember from Chord Chemistry is

xx.12.12.6.6 (Gm7)

I forget where Ted planted that on the fretboard, but note that G string is playing a higher note than the B string is playing!

I can play it as a C#m7
xx6600

That one I can reach and as a funky little thing -

going to X X 10 10 6 6 then back to start it's a great little intro to a Steely Dan-ish Rhythm thing. Almost like Chain Lighning but hitting twice on lower voicing..

Then to X 11 9 11 5 5 ( pretty chord arpeggiated too)

Then X 9 7 9 5 5

I have been hunting for cool voicings for a very long time...having nothing to do with Jazz..just because many of the Closed or even sometimes larger forms sound better or are better Pivot Chords etc.

Although I am very Jazz Infuenced now - in some ways especially Soloing - sometimes on certain Tunes and have written two Jazz Blues - specifically voiced like in Pop ..the Voicings often become part of the Tune..younger Jazzers do that now on some Originals.

Also sometimes the common tones of larger 5 and 6 note chords connect better...
And I can get stronger Harmonic Rhythms with some Voicings....

EADGBE is a PITA but man there are so many cool voicings in a 6 fret span..

I have a small but stretchy fret hand but I don't want to pop a tendon so I don't care if they are difficult as long as not injurious.

Also the reason is not to do some weird chord that doesn't fit it's to get a cool sounding chord that fits better and Rocks or Grooves or Bossas ,Sambas or maybe Swings harder better.

[oldane]

Barry Galbraith sometimes had students who cooked up chords like that. His usual comment was: "Nah, too hard." His point was that chords that hard should not be used if they halted the smooth flow from chord to chord.

[EGad]

I have heard Joe F. Pass say essentially the same thing.

[rpjazzguitar]

I have heard some stretchy players say, essentially, that no chord is too hard. They remind you that your first barre F seemed impossible. Obviously, there are chords that are too hard, and I have heard guys screw up the time while they pretzeled themselves into some weird grip, but maybe there is a point. Marcos Tardelli, comes to mind as a guy who has mastered a lot of unusual grips.

[wolflen]

I can ALMOST do it. I bet that guy with rubber fingers who looks like he's making out with his guitar can do it (can't think of his name, but if you know him, that description will be enough)

best guess..john stowell..joe diorio

[wolflen]

Well when I was studying with Ted Greene I made a comment like that once. Ted put is hand on his leg and started pulling his fingers out further and further. Then said the cartilage will give some and you can stretch out further on the neck. Ted would sometime play some huge chord and then use his nose to hammer on a bass note. Where there's a will there's a way.

yes..I also saw ted use his nose .. but using the "side" of your fingers to hit more than one note in a chord always took my breath away...thinking..how did he discover that technique...

[wolflen]

I have heard some stretchy players say, essentially, that no chord is too hard. They remind you that your first barre F seemed impossible. Obviously, there are chords that are too hard, and I have heard guys screw up the time while they pretzeled themselves into some weird grip, but maybe there is a point. Marcos Tardelli, comes to mind as a guy who has mastered a lot of unusual grips.

some others that "stretch"

Eric Johnson
Ben Monder
muris varajic
Guthrie govan

and many names we have not heard of...the most difficult chords can be played "true" with enough determination..

[jayv999]

yes..I also saw ted use his nose .. but using the "side" of your fingers to hit more than one note in a chord always took my breath away...thinking..how did he discover that technique...

Ted Greene learned the technique of using the side of the finger from George Van Eps. Ted often calls it the GVE "5th Finger Technique" or "Slant barre."
It's not that difficult, and is a life-saver for getting some pretty cool voicings.

[eh6794-2.0]

I can do it, but I can't do it in a quick musical way

[EGad]

That one I can reach and as a funky little thing -

going to X X 10 10 6 6 then back to start it's a great little intro to a Steely Dan-ish Rhythm thing. Almost like Chain Lighning but hitting twice on lower voicing..

Then to X 11 9 11 5 5 ( pretty chord arpeggiated too)

Then X 9 7 9 5 5

I have been hunting for cool voicings for a very long time...having nothing to do with Jazz..just because many of the Closed or even sometimes larger forms sound better or are better Pivot Chords etc.

Although I am very Jazz Infuenced now - in some ways especially Soloing - sometimes on certain Tunes and have written two Jazz Blues - specifically voiced like in Pop ..the Voicings often become part of the Tune..younger Jazzers do that now on some Originals.

Also sometimes the common tones of larger 5 and 6 note chords connect better...
And I can get stronger Harmonic Rhythms with some Voicings....

EADGBE is a PITA but man there are so many cool voicings in a 6 fret span..

I have a small but stretchy fret hand but I don't want to pop a tendon so I don't care if they are difficult as long as not injurious.

Also the reason is not to do some weird chord that doesn't fit it's to get a cool sounding chord that fits better and Rocks or Grooves or Bossas ,Sambas or maybe Swings harder better.

Have you seen Scott Henderson's Jazz Guitar Chord System? It is freely downloadable off the web and has some interesting unorthodox chord constellations.

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[Robertkoa]

Ted Greene learned the technique of using the side of the finger from George Van Eps. Ted often calls it the GVE "5th Finger Technique" or "Slant barre."
It's not that difficult, and is a life-saver for getting some pretty cool voicings.

Exactly - I posted a cool 6 note chord in another thread that requested them -

And I asked for inversions with all the Notes ( no doublings was the Thread )..

And Fuzzthebee ( Forum Member ) quickly came up with really cool inversions using that' giant curved Index' I have used it on top two strings or three but
NEVER thought of a 'giant curve ' like that.

I never would have either and I do Mini Barrès with every finger ..etc. but that is crazy and good and on simpler voicings you can suspend and add Rhythmic Extensions on and off - so cool.

Don't know if Fuzzthebee got it from Greene or is just super clever himself - or both.

[Robertkoa]

There are many great voicings when you start stretching 5 and 6 frets I avoid 7 *..my fret hand is a half inch
larger from doing this for so long ..really .

* also that is not a particulary cool sounding one - got to be a "money chord" to stretch that far - ha.

[Robertkoa]

For the record, I can't play half the voicings I come up with (at least not in a musical context). I'm not familiar with Ted's stuff.

You must have a really good picture(s) of the fingerboard cuz you came up with 2 inversions of a 6 note ( no doubled notes ) voicing I posted really quick .

[Hep To The Jive]

Barry Galbraith sometimes had students who cooked up chords like that. His usual comment was: "Nah, too hard." His point was that chords that hard should not be used if they halted the smooth flow from chord to chord.

I subscribe to that opinion! The chords which side effects can include headache, arthritis, and suicidal thoughts need not to be used.

[whiskey02]

My thought every time there's a "who can play this voicing" thread, is that Tommy Tedesco could likely play that voicing, but he wouldn't because there's no need for it.

[Robertkoa]

I can do it, but I can't do it in a quick musical way

My Rule is IF it's hard to Play it BETTER be a 'Money Chord ' that either sounds really good or has a mood or vibe OR it gets me somewhere very smoothly like a great Pivot Chord:
This is not that hard but is a GREAT Pivot Chord

7 - 5 - 5 - 2 - 2- 2 - it will smoothly flow or Modulate to at least 6 or 7 different Minor 7th Chords without even revoicing the Destination Chord ( meaning standard root position on E String Voicing 1- b3 - b7 etc . ) And many others. It will get you to any Tonic Voicing in ALL KEYS - Major or Minor with very little voice leading.

AND smooth enough to be on a POP recording ...

That's why it's a Money Chord ...

Stuff that's really hard to Play but doesn't sound very good to *quote Mozart ' suchz'.





*may not be an exact quote

[Robertkoa]

I subscribe to that opinion! The chords which side effects can include headache, arthritis, and suicidal thoughts need not to be used.

Lol- like those Commercials with all the side effects and you wonder ' Damn is that really worth it just to get rid of a mosquito bite irritation ?.'

I remember one of the Side Effects for one Prescription Commercial included ' unusual dreams '...
I was thinking' hmmmm that sounds interesting ..I wonder if it's really cool like 'Twilight Zone ' in 3D'.

[gmek]

I'm sorry if you didn't understand, I didn't mean the thumb over the neck but on the other side, like a cellist.
X X 9 7 5 3
Thumb on G note.

Word to the wise, don't google "cellist thumb"

I still can't picture how this would work with a thumb though, which thumb?

[grahambop]

Word to the wise, don't google "cellist thumb"

I still can't picture how this would work with a thumb though, which thumb?

Cellists sometimes use their left hand thumb to ‘fret’ notes, with the whole hand over the fingerboard (so the thumb is brought round to the front, rather than pressing on the back of the neck). Much harder to do on a guitar though, as we are not holding the guitar vertically.