transposition question, is it just me?

[borden]

my guitarist and i have had a not so serious argument about notes transposition.

ok now for a little example... example riff is taken from Dead Kennedy's - A Child And His Lawnmower song (intro riff)....

That's the way i play it, the 'harder' way of doin' it

G||------------------------|------------------------|
D||--5----5--2-------------|-------2----------------|
A||-------------5----5--2--|--3-------5----5--7--5--|
E||------------------------|------------------------|

that way i avoid playing the fat tone of E string even tho transposition doesn't affect note.

My friends way of playing it (easier way) would be

G||------------------------|------------------------|
D||--5----5----------------|------------------------|
A||----------7--5----5-----|-------7--5----5--7--5--|
E||---------------------7--|--8---------------------|

ok now i almost got myself confused....question is

Is it normal that i feel and hear a big difference in the sound when i play both parts. I mean, the notes are the same, just transposed. Since i play the E string it just adds a Fatter tone to the riff and that's not really what i'm into for that intro.

is it just me? please don't tell me he's right.....my ears can just play trick on me. Remember, i hear the same notes, juste the general feeling is way different to my ears.

thanks for correcting either one of us!

[Erick Lam]

It's perfectly normal. Your friend isn't right nor wrong. Most notes can be played in different positions. Usually, you choose the one that sounds "best", sometimes you just choose the easiest.

[borden]

that helps me alot.... you've just confirmed that the note itself IS the same, but there's a difference in the overall sound.

it's the same note, just the sound feeling is different. Thank you......
i won't rush to tell him he's wrong...i'm just happy my ears aren't playing tricks on me.

[geoffkhan]

By the way, the notes aren't transposed, they're the same notes, but just using a different position. Transposing is something else.

Unless you have large hands and are comfortable with playing the first one, I'd use the second one--it's much easier to play.

[steveb98]

The timbre of notes is a personal decission. Choosing which note to use is usually a part of what makes the phrase sound better, as you have decided.

[DumbChild]

U guys shouldnt be fighting about it thats for sure. Both are fully playable and correct. I agree fully that a note played on an E sounds slightly more ummm Intense then a note played on the A string. I would probably find playing the second one would be easier and overall better, because i find when im playing with a band no1 is really listening hard enough to wether u played the note on the E or A. Grab a listen and play which ever one is better sounding, or if one is a bit tough play the other one insted.

Ive recently had to change a piece because i couldnt make it from the 1st fret A string to the 6th fret E string in the short time the music allowed, so i would probably pick the second one. It really depends on what sound you are after ,yea

[applerocks]

"Ive recently had to change a piece because i couldnt make it from the 1st fret A string to the 6th fret E string in the short time the music allowed, so i would probably pick the second one. It really depends on what sound you are after ,yea"

Why would you want to make any jump at all in that situation? They're the same note.

Back on topic, the word transpose implies that you're actually changing the notes. What you're doing is shifting the position, just play which ever is easiest for you.