I don't really read music in any way on guitar. Oh we'll.

I've been playing a lot recently, for the first time in a long time have done some stuff in standard tuning and also a few pieces (in standard and DADGAD) with a pick.

Anyhow. My favorite chords recently have been the in-betweens, the shortcuts. Obviously I use a lot of them in open tunings b'c open tunings are great for those alternate or incomplete voicings.

One I've used heavily in the past year is in open D (DADF#AD) fretting the low D string and the F# string only at the 5th fret, so the chord runs GxDBxD, with the As available as grace notes. sVery useful as a IV chord substitute when fingerpicking. Same trick can be used at the 7th fret for the V.

In standard I realized recently how much I've come to rely on the Bm shortcut: second fret on the A string, third fret on the B string.

I've also been using my 4 string guitar a ton. Typically I tune it to mirror open D or open G but I've been using to play slide on modal old-time tunes lately. Last track was in G so I did one take in DGDG and one in ADAD capped at the 5th fret. Those might be wrong - I frequently key in one string and then mess around on the others until it clicks.

All this should be clearly audible if you listen to some of the stuff on my page. The Cruel Brother uses the open D trick excessively, and Whoa Back Buck and Cluck Okd Hen both utilize DADGAD plus the modal 4-string slide. *shrug*

All in all it's interesting to think about how my approach to chording and voicing and even picking and strumming has been influenced by more playing on other stringed instruments - mandolin, banjo, dulcimer. I need to get an octave mandolin one of these days.

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so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct