Continuing on with movable chord forms, let’s look at the G chord and the G form bar chord. This one is quite awkward to play. Don’t worry if you can’t play it perfectly at first. The most important thing with these chords is to be easily able to picture the shape and to locate the root notes.
Many important Funk chords are derived from these basic forms, so the better you know them, the easier it will be to memorize all the great sounding chords later in the book.
G
G Form
This example uses the G form bar chord for the C and D chords.
Following on from the G form, here is an E chord along with the E form bar chord. This is the most common of all the bar chord forms.
E
E Form
The final movable bar chord shape is the D form. Here it is along with the basic D chord from which it is derived.
D
D Form
This example uses the D form bar chord for the G, A and C chords.
Once you understand and can play each of these forms, the next thing to do is to play them all in one key. If you line up the five forms end to end in one key, they cover the whole fretboard. The forms then become very useful landmarks to help you map out the fretboard.
To help you memorize the order of these forms, think of the word CAGED. If you start with the C form, the next form up the neck is the A form, followed by the G form, then the E form and finally the D form. If you go past the D form, it connects back to the C form and the pattern starts again. Here is an exercise to help you memorize all five forms in the key of C.
