The C7 chord position is one of the most useful and fun chords on the guitar, and can be a real revelation once you get the hang of it. The exercise I'll teach you today that uses this position also happens to be one of the best left-hand chord exercises you can learn.
It actually involves a special combination of the C7-shape chord and another rarely used form of 7th chord that I will show you today. I'm also going to teach you what I call “the pinky rule,” which will allow you to create unique comping and walking bassline progressions that are really useful and fun to play.
This style was first introduced by early jazz greats such as Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian and Tal Farlow, and can be easily adapted to both the electric and acoustic guitar. It also helps you lock in the guitar with the drums in a very solid way. Essentially, we're going to be following the drummer, and making the guitar sound almost like a snare drum being played with brushes.
Left-hand dampening is also a necessity in this technique, and it will be stressed throughout the lesson. This is a very exciting style, and you’ll be sounding like a "Big Band" player in no time.—
Arlen Roth
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