How to use position clusters

Create-A-Chord is a revolutionary way to apply guitar chords when writing and arranging.

	Most people that play guitars, banjos, mandolins or similar instruments do not read music. They depend on "knowing" the tune and also on getting some help from chord diagrams like this one.		*The dots show where to put the fingers, X's show what strings not* to play. The "O" means play a string open.**
1.		2.

The chord diagrams are usually written above the words in the song where they occur.

Beginners often need easier positions and more advanced players find some positions lacking.

Create-A-Chord provides a way to find easier or better sounding chord positions. See what Larry Baione, Department of Guitar, Berklee of Music in Boston said about Create-A-Chord.
Introducing the....	Position ClusterTM^{^TM}
*1. The Position Cluster* uses the letter names of notes of a particular chord to reveal their location on the fretboard. We will examine the first Position Cluster of the C Chord.**
2. Some notes of the chord may occur more than once on the grid; in this example, there are 2 C's, 1 E and 2 G's. The letters appear just above the fret to be fingered; for example, the first "C" is fingered on the 2nd string, the first fret.
3. In addition, there are three more C chord notes available under the grid, representing the sounds made when the strings are played unfretted-fretted. These are called "open strings", in this example, "E - - G - E". All together, there are eight notes represented in this Position Cluster. Only three are required to sound the chord.
*4. The "definition"* of the chord is written beneath the C Position Cluster, in this example, "C E G".**

5. Any combination of notes that includes at least one of each of these notes will be a "C" chord. Any combination of fretted or open string notes which duplicate the chord definition will not change the chord. Additional notes are often desired to produce a richer sound, to maintain the melody and to develop the bass line.

Below are four of many possible C chord "positions" derived from the Position Cluster^{^TM}.

Position 1

One-finger C chord

1 C note

1 E note

1 G note

3 notes played

Position 2

Two-finger C chord

1 C note

2 E notes

1 G note

4 notes played

Position 3

Three-finger C chord

2 C notes

2 E notes

1 G note

5 notes played

Position 4

Four-finger C chord

2 C notes

2 E notes

2 G notes

6 notes played

See a page of chords using the Position Cluster^{^TM} in Create-A-Chord^{^TM}

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