Domdege
Verified buyer
08/25/26
50 Chord Tricks is so good the sound you can get from your basic open chords is incredible. This course is essential to every player trying to get better . Highly recommend it.
50 Chord Tricks You MUST Know
50 essential tricks to survive any band setting or jam session
Get this course and 1,000+ more with All Access
Try 14 days free. Cancel any time.
About this course
It's great rhythm chops that gets you the gig. It's great rhythm chops that keeps you on stage at the jam. It's great rhythm chops that makes or breaks you as a player. Want big love and adoration from your local community of musicians? Stop shedding those blazing licks and supercilious fretboard acrobatics and sink your teeth into these 50 Chord Tricks You MUST Know from Matt Brandt. Fair warning; be prepared for countless requests from fellow guitarists to "show me that!"
From John Frusciante, Robben Ford, John Mayer and Eric Johnson to T-Bone Walker, The Beatles, Nile Rogers and Stevie Ray Vaughan; however diverse their styles and music may be, they all have one thing in common -- a solid foundation crafted from interesting chord applications and engaging rhythmic ideas.
Whether you play electric or acoustic (all 50 can be used on either instrument), whatever your style (all can be twisted and turned to fit any style), these 50 chordal and rhythmic concepts pack your toolbox with enough firepower to succeed in pretty much any musical situation be it auditions, jams, performances, composing or just hanging with the buds. Power-chords, close chords, barre chords without the barres, slash chords, pedal bass concepts, dropped D approaches, harmonic innovations, open-string moves, integrated bass lines, dozens of rhythmic ideas and so much more to majorly overhaul your chord vocabulary and rhythm bag -- it's all here!
If you're battling the proverbial rut in the shed, or feeling a bit polarized at the local jam, or just plain tired of hearing yourself play the same old same old -- 50 Chord Tricks You MUST Know is likely your key to pushing through to the other side.
From John Frusciante, Robben Ford, John Mayer and Eric Johnson to T-Bone Walker, The Beatles, Nile Rogers and Stevie Ray Vaughan; however diverse their styles and music may be, they all have one thing in common -- a solid foundation crafted from interesting chord applications and engaging rhythmic ideas.
Whether you play electric or acoustic (all 50 can be used on either instrument), whatever your style (all can be twisted and turned to fit any style), these 50 chordal and rhythmic concepts pack your toolbox with enough firepower to succeed in pretty much any musical situation be it auditions, jams, performances, composing or just hanging with the buds. Power-chords, close chords, barre chords without the barres, slash chords, pedal bass concepts, dropped D approaches, harmonic innovations, open-string moves, integrated bass lines, dozens of rhythmic ideas and so much more to majorly overhaul your chord vocabulary and rhythm bag -- it's all here!
If you're battling the proverbial rut in the shed, or feeling a bit polarized at the local jam, or just plain tired of hearing yourself play the same old same old -- 50 Chord Tricks You MUST Know is likely your key to pushing through to the other side.
What you'll learn
- Execute a classic descending bass line chord progression
- Execute fills between chord hits using available fingers
- Use thumb to play bass notes on the 6th string
- Use open strings effectively in drop D tuning
- Combine rhythm and lead playing simultaneously
Release date: 05/19/2012 • 2h 43m runtime
Sample lessons
Power It Up
Trick 6
Inverted Pyramid
Trick 8
Fade To White
Trick 29
Open Aria
Trick 36
What's included
52 lessons • 50 charts • 44 Jam Tracks
50 Chord Tricks
Welcome to 50 Chord Tricks you MUST know!
These 50 essential tricks will give you the chops to survive any band rehearsal or jam session and will give you a truck load of ideas for arranging and composing your own songs. Whether you are playing electric or acoustic, strumming or picking, solo or in a band; this chord toolbox is what you want to bring to the gig. It contains power-chord hammers, close chord screw drivers, bar chords without bar wrenches, chord slashers, pedal bass welders, dropped D switchblades, electric power chords, harmonic chainsaws, open string chisels and to hold it all together, loads of bass line duct tape.
From rudimentary chord tricks like moving an open position chord up the neck to hook inspiring jaw dropping chord magic - all the great rock and blues players have used these implements and gone to town with them.
From John Frusciante, Robben Ford, John Mayer and Eric Johnson to T-Bone Walker, The Beatles, Nile Rogers and Stevie Ray Vaughan, they have all built their house with these implements. With these ploughs and pliers you'll never chop chords like a hillbilly no more.
Let Matt be your guide in this Hardware Store of Chords and load up your pickup with these great backup tools. You'll never be bored playing chords ever again.
These 50 essential tricks will give you the chops to survive any band rehearsal or jam session and will give you a truck load of ideas for arranging and composing your own songs. Whether you are playing electric or acoustic, strumming or picking, solo or in a band; this chord toolbox is what you want to bring to the gig. It contains power-chord hammers, close chord screw drivers, bar chords without bar wrenches, chord slashers, pedal bass welders, dropped D switchblades, electric power chords, harmonic chainsaws, open string chisels and to hold it all together, loads of bass line duct tape.
From rudimentary chord tricks like moving an open position chord up the neck to hook inspiring jaw dropping chord magic - all the great rock and blues players have used these implements and gone to town with them.
From John Frusciante, Robben Ford, John Mayer and Eric Johnson to T-Bone Walker, The Beatles, Nile Rogers and Stevie Ray Vaughan, they have all built their house with these implements. With these ploughs and pliers you'll never chop chords like a hillbilly no more.
Let Matt be your guide in this Hardware Store of Chords and load up your pickup with these great backup tools. You'll never be bored playing chords ever again.
Summer of '61
Arguably the most famous chord trick ever played, Bryan Adams' hook of "Summer of '69 ". Countless songs have used this simple trick on an open string chord of adding and removing a finger.
Gotta keep this one close.
Gotta keep this one close.
Saturday Night
One of the simplest chords in the book: move an open position chord up the neck. Place it anywhere on the fretboard and see if you dig the sound.
Many song hooks have been based on this chord trick.
Many song hooks have been based on this chord trick.
Close To Blues
A great chord trick to use in a blues backup, when there is more than one guitar player or if there's a keyboard player. Reduce the four note dominant seventh chord to a triad by removing the perfect fifth of the chord or the root. Keep the remaining triads as close as possible.
Turn Around
Moving a cliche chord run or chord voicing to a different set of strings will get you alternative chord fingerings and extra options for extensions. This chord trick moves a simple turnaround to a lower set of strings.
Mayor's Daughter
Bar chords without a bar can be a very powerful tool in creating backup parts that sound thick and rich. The open strings E and B will color all the chords and glue them together throughout the progression.
Power It Up
Move a cliche power chord voicing to a different set of strings and end up with a huge sound that will also hand you some colorful extensions.
+ 45 more lessons
Reviews
16 results
Popgun64
Verified buyer
03/01/25
Chord tricks
Enjoying it
slash2741
Verified buyer
01/27/25
Great Course
This is a really useful course! So many great ideals to use, thanks!
Ricksonfire
Verified buyer
12/06/24
Add to your Chord Techniques
Always good to add new chords techniques
Osokin
Verified buyer
03/08/22
Chordal Inspiration!
Matthieu Brandt has produced some great courses for TrueFire, and this collection of 50 Chord 'tricks' is no exception. Some really great sounding progressions and approaches are demonstrated - guaranteed to expand your arsenal of rhythmic ideas and raise the level of your rhythm playing. Great to dip into when you are seeking some chordal inspiration!
Stop searching. Start improving with All Access.
Try 14 days free. Cancel any time.
