"Lost In The Ozone" - sample mp3 posted

[eryque]

I was trying to twang along with the Commander last night and heard some cool jazzy western swing-type rhythm playing mixed low on the track. Anyone know what these chords are? Sounds more like an old jazz box than a telecaster, but sure does sound like it's fun to play!


edit:
I just put an mp3 of the song online for you folks to hear. If anyone's got a good ear for chords and a few minutes, take a listen!

http://support.delmar.com/downloads/e/ozone.mp3

Hey Eric, got your note. :-) I listened to the sound sample, but unfortunately the rhythm guitar is mixed too low for me to hear exactly what voicings he's using (out of my computer speakers, anyway).

BUT... I do hear him using an E7 or E9 at the beginning of each verse/chorus. Also, I can give you a couple of ideas that may help (one of which he doesn't actually play, but sounds pretty cool).

I think the real key is getting that fast "boom-chicka-boom-chicka" rhythm pattern going with the right hand. You need to hit a bass note on beat one and three. On beats two and four, you hit the appropriate chord, but then immediately muffle it with your <u>left</u> hand, so that you can play a quick upstroke on the "and" of the beat. This requires constantly <u>gripping, releasing and re-gripping each chord</u>, sort of bouncing your fingers up and down on the fretboard on every chord. Combined with the the upstrokes, it should give you that distinctive "chick-a" sound.

Next is using the right kind of voicings. For something like this, I would use 3-note "Freddy Green"-type shapes, named for the great and gifted guitarist with Count Basie who used them so well for so many decades. Here are some examples:

E7 = x767xxx (alternate with 7x67xx)

B7 = 7x78xx

A6 = 5x46xx

(Also, I don't hear him playing it on the clip, but I might also throw in Bbdim, played 6x56xx.)

Then using those voicings and that right-hand rhythm pattern, the 16-bar song form would go:

E7 (6 bars), B7 (two bars), E7 (two bars), A6 (1 bar), Bbdim (1bar), E7 (1 bar), B7 (1 bar), E7 (2 bars).

Again, I do NOT hear that diminished chord in there on the sound clip, but if you try it I think you'll find it works pretty well.

Hope this helps, and happy chunkin'... :-) CS