Fun with the B String
March 8th, 2008 by Matt Sayar
I was just playing around with my guitar today, and I noticed something funny. If you play around with holding/releasing the B string (2nd string) while playing various chords that use it (A, Am, D, C, Gadd5, Cadd9, etc) it gives the music a little more… voice. That’s the best word I can use to describe it.
Go ahead and try it! Just strum a simple DDUUDU (Down Down Up…) pattern, and play chords while releasing the B string before the first Up strum, then placing it back after the last Up strum. I made an MP3 with a sample and better explanation, so give it a listen!
Posted in Guitars
Try adding it to some that don’t use it. I’m not a virtuoso of music theory, but IIRC adding the B string to most open chords (that don’t use it) results in Chord Add7th (Eadd7) and adding the high E string results in Add9th. I see it in tab a lot.
You can also play the intro to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck on just the B string. It’s a good exercise for learning speed and accuracy.