Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
MusicRadar
MusicRadar
Entertainment
Leigh Fuge

"Most of Phoebe Bridgers' songs have a strong guitar theme throughout and included in this are some very interesting chords": learn 4 here to inspire your playing

Singer Phoebe Bridgers of the American band Boygenius performs live on stage during a concert at the Verti Music Hall on August 15, 2023 in Berlin, Germany.

Phoebe Bridgers is making some serious waves in the Indie world. Her music is based around intricate acoustic folk ideas with layers of electronic elements, dreamy vocals and melancholic lyrical themes.

With folk being the heart of her writing style, most of her songs have a strong guitar theme throughout and included in this are some very interesting chords. In this lesson we’re going to look at some of those for inspiration.

Em6

(Image credit: Future)

The track Would You Rather features this really interesting Em6 chord. Min6 chords are not typically found in many mainstream songs. These chord types are usually found in Jazz.

In this song, the Em6 is one of the final chords you hear in the song. The m6 chord always feels unresolved and adds a sense of tension to a progression.


Gmaj7

(Image credit: Future)

In the chorus of the track ICU you will hear this arpeggiated Gmaj7 chord. This particular 4 string voicing of a maj7 chord has a somewhat haunting quality instead of the usual rich and melodic sound we expect from maj7 chords.

With this major7 voicing, all the notes are stacked in order from root to maj7.


G/B

(Image credit: Future)

This chord, found in the intro to the song Demi Moore, is a G major triad with a B in the bass. This is an interesting voicing because it can be used in two different ways.

This chord shape is a great way to use a triad as your chord with some alternate bass notes. This can be especially useful in a song with a moving bassline that moves around a single chord.


Dadd4

(Image credit: Future)

The Dadd4 chord that starts the track Garden Song is a really easy chord to play, but adds a very interesting substitution for a D chord to your arsenal. The studio version of the track is tuned down a full step to D standard tuning, but this chord also works in standard tuning.

The add4 note is different to the sus4 that you might usually add to a D. Instead of the tension of a sus4, we’re adding the 4 as an add4 alongside the existing major chord to give a very harmonically rich-sounding chord.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.