Help me with one chord please

[ExYuBass]

Hi there!
Well guys I have a really big problem.
Its a chord that I cant play it contains the notes E,A,F and D.
I play on a 5 string but I just cant figure out a good fingering.
Sure I have made some but they are impossible to grip seriously.
If you want to know what I need that chord for then its because of a song. The song is in A minor.
Thanks in advance.

Oh forgot to mention I need the chord in the second octave. I meen after the 12 fret. So I cant use any open strings.

[Miles Berry]

its a iv chord with a major 9th? I guess. play the open E, then DFA on the A, D, and G strings.

[ExYuBass]

Originally Posted by Miles Berry

its a iv chord with a major 9th? I guess. play the open E, then DFA on the A, D, and G strings.

Yes sorry I forgot to mention that I cant use any open strings. Is there still a way to play it?

[Matthew Bryson]

How about:

--------------------------
----0----------------------
----8---------------------
----5---------------------
----5----------------------

Or

--------------------------
----3----------------------
----5--------------------
----5---------------------
----5---------------------

Or

--------------------------
----0----------------------
----0---------------------
----0---------------------
----6----------------------

[phippsyg]

Depends on the voicing you want and how you want to interpret this chord but I see it as a d-9. d barre the d on the 15th fret of b and the f on the d string. Play the a on the 17th fret of e, stretch with your pinky to the e on the g string. This seemed to be the best voicing and the most clearly playable.

[ExYuBass]

Sorry man I can only use the frets from 12 to 24. Because the song is based around those notes and changing would sound bad.

[ExYuBass]

Originally Posted by phippsyg

Depends on the voicing you want and how you want to interpret this chord but I see it as a d-9. d barre the d on the 15th fret of b and the f on the d string. Play the a on the 17th fret of e, stretch with your pinky to the e on the g string. This seemed to be the best voicing and the most clearly playable.

Thanks man ill try it now.

[ExYuBass]

Damn this is really hard.

[ExYuBass]

Ah crap now I hurt my hand

[DocBop]

Which is the root? Is it suppose to be some sus chord or minor add 9? Also you have E and F that is going to sound bad. You will probably have to drop a note an unimportant note like the 5th.

[ExYuBass]

Originally Posted by DocBop

Which is the root? Is it suppose to be some sus chord or minor add 9? Also you have E and F that is going to sound bad. You will probably have to drop a note an unimportant note like the 5th.

Oh it's you the one that seems to know alot.
Yes bro it does sound really bad. Im very depressed now seems like I cant play chords on my new 5 string bass It sounds so muddy and uggly. Please explain more about unimportnat notes. What exacly do you meen? And what can I do about those chords sounding so muddy Man im so depressed here

The root is D by the way.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Three questions, out of curiosity:

1- How many frets does your bass have?

2- What type of construction is it (bolt-on, neck-through...)?

3- Does the song arrangement give you time to play the chord? I mean, does it happen very fast or do you have time to play it in a relaxed way?

[ExYuBass]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Three questions, out of curiosity:

1- How many frets does your bass have?

2- What type of construction is it (bolt-on, neck-through...)?

3- Does the song arrangement give you time to play the chord? I mean, does it happen very fast or do you have time to play it in a relaxed way?

1- It has 24 frets
2- I dont know its a Ibanez EDB405 Ergodyne, I dont understand the question sorry.
3- Yes its calm and I can play it in a quite relaxed way

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Well, if your bass has 24 frets, access to the highest register is comfortable (my second question pointed to that) and you have time to prepare your fingers, you can try this very awkward fingering. It will sound great if you can do it:

- E string, 22nd fret with your ring finger
- A string, 20th fret with your middle finger
- D string, 19th fret with your index
- G string, 21th fret with your pinky

Voilà! A full Dm (add9), which is how your chord is called.

Hope this helps.

[HaVIC5]

If you wouldn't mind going playing a chord starting around the tenth fret, this is how I would voice a Dm add9 chord. It has a minor 2nd between the upper two voices, so it's kind of harsh, but some people (myself included) really dig that sound.

-10-
-14-
-12-
-10-

Barre the 10th fret and play the 12th fret with middle and 14th fret with pinky.

[rockwarnick]

how are you playing this chord? strumming, plucking? i suggest a little help from your plucking hand. maybe hold the chord with one note being held by your plucking had strummed with your thumb. or tap the extra note. or tap all at rhythm needed. heres a few i tried out

g-14 (ring)/(middle)<---if you can stretch it try the second parenthises in this chord
d-15 (pinky)/((ring)
a-17 (index*right hand)/(pinky)
e-12 (index)/(index)

g-14 (middle, ring, or pinky)
d-14 (middle, or ring)
a-17 (index*right hand)
e-13 (index)

g-21 (index*right hand)
d-12 (index)
a-12 (index)
e-13 (middle) not sure how this sounds...only have 20 frets, sounds fine an octave down...

g-21 (index*right hand)
d-15 (index)
a-17 (middle)
e-17 (middle)...i played this an octave lower...i think it sounds cool. i think ill write a song with it tomorrow...

g-19 (index*right hand)
d-14 (ring)
a-12 (index)
e-13 (middle)

g-19 (index*right hand)
d-15 (ring or pinky)
a-12 (index)
e-12 (index)

[DocBop]

Originally Posted by ExYuBass

Oh it's you the one that seems to know alot.
Yes bro it does sound really bad. Im very depressed now seems like I cant play chords on my new 5 string bass It sounds so muddy and uggly. Please explain more about unimportnat notes. What exacly do you meen? And what can I do about those chords sounding so muddy Man im so depressed here

The root is D by the way.

It's only an illusion I know a lot.

Chords on bass are tough because of the range of the instrument. That is why you want to simplify them. What I have done on my 5 and 6 string bass is work out basic three note chords. That are root, 3rd, and 7th and i try to keep the voicing open so they sound good. You can work out the voicing good exercise. Put the 3rd or 7th your two high strings and root on B string, or on E string. I use root on A string too, but more as a left over from 4-string bass. With your roots down on the B or E string the chords won't be muddy especially up the neck. Also using voicings like this it is easy to move the root around for a bass line while holding the 3rd and 7th.

Now for playing chords on bass it all depends on if you are playing by yourself or with a band. With a band you can start some of the basic chord tones out and play the color tones, because some chordal instrument in the band is covering the basic chord for you. So you have to think like an arranger. This is where understanding Polychords come in handy. You can play the upper part of the polychord and let the band catch the lower part.

I said the other chord would sound bad because of the minor 2nd/minor 9th you had in the notes (E & F.) On bass you will have to play around with the voicing to get it to sound right.

If D is the root I look at the chord as a Dmi Add 9. I would leave the A out. That said I just tried it quickly on my bass and first voicing I tried seems okay. 12th fret E, A, D, then F on the G-string tenth fret. That works because it separates the E and F minor 9th as much as possible.

Chords are fine on a 5-string, you need a good B-string and strings a little to the bright side. Then some patience to work out the voicing.

Remember the most important notes in a chord are the 3rd and 7th. 5th is easy to toss out. If you have other chordal instruments then you can leave the root out and replace with a 9th or other color tone.

Don't get depressed with your 5-string you have to learn to play it the same way you learned to play a 4-string.

[Phil Smith]

A 5 string with a high C will open up more chord sounds for you and sound less muddy. It's really useful for playing chords to tunes like "Round Midnight".

[tkozal]

+1 on the last two posts, excellent advice (this from a E-C guy who plays a lot of r-3-7-extension chords)

[ExYuBass]

Well thanks alot guys you have all really helped out.
Thanks for taking your time now I can finally continue my song