Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Open Moveable Shapes

“E” Based Open Moveable Shapes

Many of the common moveable shapes are based on a couple
shapes you already know:
open position E and Em
Open
Moveable
Shapes
are just that:
open & moveable. In every major
key, there is sequence of major and mi-
nor chords. The root, or One Chord (1) is
a major chord. In the key of E, the One
Chord (1) is E major.

The other two major chords that occur in major key are the
Four Chord (4) and the Five Chord (5). In the key of
E, these are A major and B major, respectively.

Instead of changing “shapes” or fingering and

moving to the open position “A” shape... Keeping the E string
“open” on each of
…try moving the E shape up to where it creates an these chords cre-
A chord (A, C#, E). This occurs at the 6th
fret. It’s still the same shape, or fingering, but now, ates yet a new color
because of where it is on the neck, it’s an A chord. Try these chords:

Move it up 2 more frets and it

becomes the 5: B major.

So we’ve made this chord “moveable,” but

what about “open”? Let’s go back to the A chord
on the 6th fret. Play it with strings 2, and 1
open.

The open 1st string (e) helps create a fuller sound. But
it’s the open 2nd string (b)that gives this chord some
color. The b creates an add2 chord. The 3rd
of A is present: c# along with the 2nd of A: b.
When the are played together, a great sound
is created.

Go one step further and open up the 5th string. Now The constant E in the bass
you get that same add2 “open” sound with an A can give the music a
bass note. “drone”. Use your hear to
determine when you
Now open up those strings on the B chord on the 8th fret. should use it and when
What’s created with this combination is an “add4”. The 3rd not to.
of the chord (d#) is present right beside the 4th of
the chord (e). This 1/2 step interval within the chord
creates a dissonance that gives some richness to
this chord. On to the
minors...
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 Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Open Moveable Shapes

“E” Based Open Moveable Shapes

Minor chords based on the E Minor Shape
Keeping the E string
“open” on each of
these chords creates
yet a new color Try
these chords:

In every major key, there is sequence of major and minor

chords.* The One Chord (1), Four Chord (4), and Five Chord
(5) are all major chords. The Two (2m), Three (3m), and Six
(6m) are all minor chords.

In the key of E, these chords are 2m = F#m, 3m = G#m, and

6m = C#m.

The “E” shape is easily moved up and down the neck with
no need for alteration. The open 3rd string in the Em
shape requires modifying how we make this shape.
In order to move the E minor shape up the neck,
the chord needs to be modified to emulate the
open string. Check out the 2m chord: F#m: The constant E in the bass
can give the music a
“drone”. Use your hear to
determine when you should
It’s easy to see the resemblance to the F#m
barre chord.
Put it into
The 3m (G#m) is 2 frets up.
practice...
The 6m (C#m) at the 8th fret.

Keeping strings 1 and 2 open gives the minor

chords a different “color.”

The 2m (F#m) becomes an Fm#11. The open

“e” is a “flat 7” changes the F#m into an F#m7. The
open “b” is the 4th, or 11th.

The 3m (G#m) becomes a G#m6. The open

“b” simply doubles the 4th fret “b.” The open
“e” is the 6th of the chord which creates the
m6.

The 6m (C#m) becomes a C#m7. The open

“e” is the 3rd of the chord. The open “b” is the “flat
7” and creates a m7.

*See “A Quick Guide to Nashville Numbers” to learn more about this.

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 Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Open Moveable Shapes

Let’s look at the major and minor chords in the context of a key. Remember, every key
follows the same sequence of major and minor chords. The chords in a key are desig-
nated with numbers. Classical and jazz theory uses Roman numeral. Increasingly,
popular music is using something refered to as Nashville Numbers.

Major minor minor Major Major minor diminished

o or dim
Nashville Number 1 2m 3m 4 5 6m 7
Examples
Key of C C Dm Em F G Am Bdim
Key of G G Am Bm C D Em F#dim

Diminished?! The 7 chord of the major keys occurs naturally as a diminished chord
(root, b3, b5). When the 7th interval of the chord is added, it becomes a minor7 b5
chord**. This chord is seen occasionally in popular worship music (often in styles of jazz,
r&b and gospel).

More often, the 7 chord is substituted by the chord inversion 5/7—that is the 5 chord
with the 7th interval of the key in the bass. Huh? For example, a the 7th chord in the
key of C would be a G/B, or a G7/B—that is a G or G7 chord with a “b” note in the
bass. In the key of E, it is B/D#. See the training, “Music Theory You (Actually) Can Use.”
Below is one example of a moveable 5/7 shape. As we progress through other shapes,
there will be other ways to play the chord. Here are moveable E shapes in the context

*The presence
of the open ‘e’
technically
1 2m 3m 4 5 6m 5/7* makes this a
Badd4/D#

The 3m chord (G#m in the key of

E) is used regularly in contempo-
rary worship music. However, a
common substitution is the 1/3.
A note about tensions: Tensions, or extensions, are
(The one chord with the 3rd inter- all those extra numbers after the chord name:
val of the key in the bass). In the add4, 6, 7, 11, m7, m7b5, etc. Don’t get too literal
key of C, this would be C/E. In on what should be played where. An F#m11 will
the key E, it is E/G#. The good usually sound good in place of a F#m7. Take an
news is, it is the same type of
educated
inversion as the 5/7. So you can
use the shape we just learned. Example guess and just
A great example of these open moveable shapes in trust your ear.
action is the now “classic” worship song:
“I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” by Delirious.

Use the chords above to play the verse and chorus progression of “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever.”

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Some variations...
 Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Open Moveable Shapes

Variations
One of the
challenges of E & Em shapes is
that, other than the 1, or E, the root
is not in the bass. As you’re playing The 4 and 5
in a full band, the bass notes aren’t chords (A and B
key of E) can
as important. The piano and bass be played
are usually covering those. But with root on
here are a few variations of E/Em the 6th string.
shapes that have the root in the You’ll notice it’s just the
basic 6th string major
barre chord with the 1st
and 2nd strings open.

The open moveable E minor shape

can be altered to allow
for the root in the bass.
Here is the shape: Depending on the song, style and/or key,
Most commonly you can move these different shapes to
played on the various places on the neck to create inter-
second fret, this esting sounding chords. Here are a few
chord becomes the 2m. examples.
Other spellings for the same
shape can include F#m7(4)
and A2/F#. You can usually
use this chord whenever an F#m7 is
noted. It does not work as well when
a straight minor chord is required,
e.g. F#m in the song “Awesome
God.”
You can also use this open shape for
the 3m (G#m) and 6m (C#m)
in the key of E.
This G#m7 shape includes
the open “e” which actu-
ally makes it a “m13”
chord. It’s a rather bland
chord, but it can be used
effectively. Again, just trust

Again, trust your ear to determine if the

chord fits or not.

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 Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Open Moveable Shapes

will
Theallow us shapes
E & Em to play are
in the same or
somewhat
a closerbecause
limiting position ontheytherequire
neck. a
linear progression up
the neck. That
means if you want “A” Based Open Moveable Shapes
go from the E chord Many of the common moveable shapes are based on a couple
to the C#m7 chord, shapes you already know:
you need to jump open position A and Am:
eight frets. Let’s look
at a new set of
shapes that have
5th string roots. This

The major shapes are actually based off

the A2 shape with its open 2nd
string. Just like in the case of the
The minor shapes are based on the open
Em shapes, we had to modify the
position Am. Again, we need to modify the
fingering to account for
fingering to account for the open
the open string. For this
5th string root.
group of chords, the 5th
string root is needed.

So in key of E, the 1 chord is E, Continuing in the key of E, the 2m

and it’s played at the 7th fret. Be- (F#m) is played at the 9th fret.
cause there is no 3rd (G#), the
chord is an E5. The “5” designation is also
used to note “power chords.”
The 3m (G#m) doesn’t work as well
The next major chord in the key of E is A. because it’s so high up on
Here, we just play the open position the neck. But you might
A2 noted above. use it occasionally.

The final major chord in the key of E The 6m (C#m) is on the 4th fret.
is the 5 chord: B. This is played on
the 2nd fret.
This shape works well in other keys, too:

You can also move this shape to other

frets to create new sounding chords. Here
are a couple examples…

Have we mentioned to just trust your ear? a minor

variation...
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 Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Open Moveable Shapes

There’s another variation of the 5th string root, open moveable

minor shape. It’s based on a 4-note jazz voicing for a “m7”.
Here’s the shape on the 3rd fret, which makes a Cm7.
Substituting for the
The Cm7 chord is spelled with
3 and 7 chords
Root=C
Notice there is no 5th in this chord—the 5th is not a
b3=Eb crucial chord tone except in power chords (e.g. G5) Earlier, we looked at a way to
5th=G and diminished & augmented chords (b5 & substitute the for less often
b7= Bb #5). used 3m and 7dim chords us-
ing an inversion. Here is a de-
cent moveable chord that is
If we move the shape up one fret,
based on an A shape. It has a
we now have a C#m7. 5th string bass note versus the
earlier substitution shape
Now open up the 1st and 2nd strings, and we
which had a 6th string bass.
have a new open moveable chord. In the key of
E, this is the 6m. This chord will
The 2m is begins on the 7th fret. work in the key
of E as a substi-
tute for
D#m7b5. You
And the 3m is found on the 9th. can also open
up the 1st at
times to create an “add4”
sound.
This shape is also makes a great Em7.

An open position variation of this shape The inversion sub

also produces a great sounding Bm7. for the 3m
(G#m) isn’t as
strong because
of it’s place on the neck, but it
can work in certain situations.
Other Variations
Here are a few variations of open moveable chords we just looked at.
No context or examples are given. They are just thrown out there you to try.

The “C” shape The “G2” shape

The “Cadd2” shape

Examples
There are countless ways to modify these chords we’ve looked
at, and there scores more open moveable chords we haven’t
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even touched yet. The key is to be creative and adventurous.
Try new things and trust your ear. Watch what other players are doing.
 Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Open Moveable

EXAMPLES Consider utilizing open moveable shapes based on their position on

the fretboard. Find shapes that are near each other. The following is
the chord progression of Revelation Song in the key of E.
Play through each example to get the feel of the chord changes in these near positions. Pay
attention also to the chord name in the progression, and the actual variation of the chord
you’re playing. It’ll help you to know what changes you can make to chord.

“Revelation Song”

Example #1 is in
open position.

Example #2 is
between the 5th
and 7th positions.

Let’s do the same thing with the progression to “Grace Like Rain.”

Grace Like Rain

Example #1 is be-
tween the open
fourth positions.

Example #2 is
between the 5th
and 7th positions.

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 Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Open Moveable

EXAMPLE Tim Hughes’ “Here I Am to Worship” is a great song in which to

explore open moveable chords. In the following chord chart (words and
chords), we will vary the different open chords to help you see different ways

Here I Am to Worship
Verse 1

Light of the world, You step down into darkness. Opened my eyes let me see.

Beauty that made this heart adore you hope of a life spent with you.

Chorus

And here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,

You're altogether lovely, Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me.

Bridge

I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. (etc)

.
© 2009 by Jon Nicol
Feel free to use, copy and distribute this resource as long as the content or this information is not changed or removed.
If you have questions about this resource, send an e-mail to jon@worshipteamcoach.com.

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