Conference napalm::guitar

    That's a design problem with wives in general; it has nothing to
    do with your playing :-)
    
    do a dir/tit="chord" to find some notes on chords ... 2851 is a good
    place to start.

    
    You could play something different every night and your wife will still
    think it sounds the same.  As Dave pointed out, it's an inherent design
    flaw.  
      
      Lv

	... be thankful that your wife even notices what you play....
	my wife tunes it right out....  and calls my guitar playing
	a 'childhood regression'.

	but besides... if you want to avoid sounding the same all the
	time, don't ask for advice in the 'blues chords' topic... lest
	you invoke the ridicule of our resident shredders and techno-
	dweebs!  ;-)

	/Steve

    For some reason, my wife never says anything about what I play, only
    about what I write.
    
    Here's a suggestion:  stop thinking about chords at all.  Instead, see
    what happens if you substitute "note combinations drawn from the
    current key signature".
    
    Paul

    > My wife [thinks] I always play the same [thing]...
    
    Maybe your wife is RIGHT!!!!
    
    ;-)
    
    	db

    
    	I remember when my ex told her sister "oh, Tom doesn't
    	play SONGS".
    
    	Of course I do.  It's just that the backing band is in
    	my head.
    
    	First dating	- they listen intently and watch you play.
    	Few months pass	- they read in the same room
    	Few more months	- retreat to the bedroom
    	Next month	- shuts the door and cranks the tv
    
    	;^)
    
    

    Yeah, I get the same feedback from my so.  Of course I suppose it does
    sound like pointless noodling without the backup band in my brain.
    And my kids are always telling me I play too loud!?  Where did I go
    wrong? :-)
    
    Some real advice, hopefully pertinent to the original topic:
    
    Get a copy of Ted Green's book "Chord Chemistry".  It'll keep you
    busy for a lifetime or two.
    
    /rick
    

    re .5
    
    obviously you're not married

    
    	Dave Clark, I guess you missed the "blues slam" overtones in that
    	reply.
    

    >   Here's a suggestion:  stop thinking about chords at all.  Instead, see
    >   what happens if you substitute "note combinations drawn from the
    >   current key signature".
      
    But he wants jazz or blues chords--  he needs note combinations that
    *aren't* in the current key signature  ;^)  ;^)  
    
    (Actually, .4 is a good recommendation)
    
    
    Jim (my wife *likes* to hear me play, and says so fairly
    	 frequently.  But I'm a very lucky guy.)

>    Get a copy of Ted Green's book "Chord Chemistry".  It'll keep you
>    busy for a lifetime or two.

Good book!  Whenever I'm out of ideas I flip through mine and
try out some new chords.

Try major seventh chords, they're real pretty.

    Here's a chord your wife will dislike:
    
    Emaj7+9	- play the E on the D string, 2nd fret
    		- play the G# on the G string, first fret
    		- play the Eb on the B string, 4th fret
    		- play the G on the high E string, 3rd fret
    
    use it as a substitute for any chord that sounds nice :-)

    Yes, the Maj 7/9 chord is a good one.
    
    Also, another vote for Chord Chemistry -- wonderful book!

    Here's one she'll dislike even more:

    g string, 8th fret
    b string, 6th fret
    e string, open

    What to call it is an exercise left to the reader.  8^)

    Paul
    

    re: 
    
    "note combinations drawn from the current key signature"
    
    I tryed this last night.  Unfortunately, I found the
    "drawn from the current key signature" part overly limiting, 
    and incompatible with my technique!
    
    Dave - whose wife only gets mad when he drowns out 90210
    
    
    
    

    re: "overly limiting"
    
    So you like to play "outside" a lot?  (Just curious...somehow I'd
    gotten the opposite impression from past conversations.)
    
    Paul

    
    
    It was a joke about what a lame "player" I am, 
    but I left out the inflection =B-)
    
    That is actually what I try to do, I mean just
    moding around on a scale (usually D or G!), and maybe 
    leaving a pedal going with an open string for example, 
    however (a) I don't know the finger board 
    well enough, and (b) my fingers don't go 
    where I want them to go in time!   
    
    If I understand correctly, your suggestion is 
    a great way to get started improvising, like 
    creating little melodies in a key, maybe with 
    some simple changes, and not focusing on playing 
    licks.    
    
    My snide little remark was intended to be the old 
    bash on free/avante garde playing, that the reason
    they do it is because they can't make the changes
    (or even stay within a key). At least that's my reason!  
    But its really just a joke, and I do enjoy that stuff, though
    I think its really hard to do.  I like late Miles (live at 
    Filmore), Abdullah Ibrahim (Echoes of Africa), Sam 
    Rivers (duets with Dave Holland), Lester Bowie (Organ Group), 
    even Jarret (the Koln concert), and lots more.  Oddly, one of 
    the most intense free tunes I've heard was "classical 
    jazzer" Wynton Marsalis' band in 1984.  They came on and 
    played non-stop, burning up-tempo for 20 minutes (jeff Watts 
    on drums), and then said "thats a song we just made up".  It 
    was really great.      
    
    Dave - who once again broke the sarcasm meter 

    >Dave - who once again broke the sarcasm meter
    
    Oh, I get it.  It's dangerous to subject a person who's
    been reading X/Open specs all week to sarcasm!   8^)
    
    Paul