[boredmatt]

I like to sit and strum through chords that come to mind while i'm practicing and maybe improvise some good (or bad) sounding progressions. I'd like to make it a little less random.

I was wondering on whether there are certain types of chord that give a feeling or emotion when used in certain contexts.

For example, minor chords can be used to create a "sad" sound (I think).

[thodwris]

Hello boredmatt....
It is very good what you are doing,you like playing music and you put it to practice.It doesn't matter if they are good or bad progressions,what really matters is that they are yours.It is a good way to learn to play the guitar and make progress....
As for the chords you said,as far as I know the minor chords have a more melodic or balladish(if I might say)tendancy while the major ones are a bit more aggressive...In my opinion(and since you are at the beginning)try to use your imagination to create chord progressions and just trust your ears.It's a god way to go...
Good luck playing your guitar man.Have fun.Take care...

[johnnydoxx]

I agree that chords have a feeling along with them, lots of times depending on their location in a progression.

I think of minor chords as sad sometimes, but at other times 'suggestive' ('salacious' as X4 calls it).
Major 7ths are 'pretty', like what a harp can evoke.
Dominant 7ths are 'leading', suggesting a 'way out' or a 'different place to go'.
Augmenteds can be 'luring' or 'daring', like a temptress.

And for a progression the circle of fifths is 'fun', like 'sassy fun'.

And the 12-bar blues progression based on dominant sevenths is 'bawdy'.

And then some of the off-chords I grab are 'poopy' .....

[WernHalen]

boredmatt,

I believe that the sound of a chord is influenced greatly by the context of the chord... This is one of the reaosns why Kirk can hear an implied chord based on a chord progression... Rockers mainly play power chords, but the underlying chord in the progression is still implied in the progression. I hear these as well, although not as well as Kirk does...

[gagibson]

If you like to mess around with chords, try creating different combinations until you find one that catches your ear. From there, try fine-tuning that combination you chose until eventually you get something you're satisfied with

[si16]

Here's a lesson on chord progressions that you might find useful - Harmonic Conjugations

[boredmatt]

Thanks very much people! That's a lot of help.
Methinks i'm gonna be fiddling with that for a while. have been having fun with mixing major minor and suspended chords from the same key like dmaj, dsus2, dsus4 and dm. works kinda well. still working on it though.

[monte]

When playing the chords (ie G ) and singing along I was told not to play th 7th chords because I cannot hit those notes while singing. On the other hand I was told the 7th gives a different color to the song because the othe guitar players are playing G C D. Am I out of line playing other chords in the song. Monte

[scotty_b]

Of course you can hit the 7th with your voice over a chord. You can play or sing any note over any chord if you so desire.
Adding in chord extensions and alterations ( 7ths and beyond) is really a question of context and of taste.

[mantablueraider]

this thread hit on something i've been thinking about and that is i seem to like the minor chords and use them alot when improvising. i usually start off with them and use the majors to get a transition then back to the minors. i think A and E minors are my fav.s, as i always seem to build off of them...