Ruth H Parry

3 weeks ago | acousticguitar.com | Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |David Hamburger |Ruth H Parry |Gretchen Menn

Think of the guitar intro to the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” played by George Harrison with a capo way up at the seventh fret. That passage is instantly recognizable because it introduces the song’s melody along with the chords—using common open chord shapes. In fact, Harrison continues to play the melody through much of the song, doubling his voice while holding down the rhythm.

Aug 21, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Goran Ivanović |Adam Perlmutter |Ruth H Parry |Sean McGowan |Sean Mcgowan

As a classical guitarist and composer, I normally play a traditional nylon-string guitar. But about four or five years ago, I received a beautiful steel-string—a Collings 01 12-Fret—and immediately felt so taken with its sound. It was like getting a totally different instrument.

Aug 23, 2023 | acousticguitar.com | Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Gretchen Menn |Ruth H Parry |David Hamburger

If you’ve been strumming and playing songs using chords like G, C, D, E, and A, with maybe a couple of minor or sevenths thrown in, you’ve been playing open chords—those that use one or more open strings. Barre chords have no open strings; you play them by placing your index finger across five or six strings at once (barring them) and putting down some combination of your remaining fingers on the frets above your index finger.