Substitute Chords - part 3
In the last two posts we looked at alternative chord voicings in the keys of G and C. Now let’s look at my favourite set of shapes which is for the key of D. I’m a big James Taylor fan and many of his songs use these exact voicings so if you want to get his sound then this is a good place to begin.
The key here is to anchor your ring finger on the D note on string 2 (B) at fret 3. Then most of the other shapes are based around moving your index or middle finger to form the other chords. So the transition between Dadd9, Em7, G and A7sus4 just requires a simple ‘one finger’ change.
A/C# can be a bit tricky but the Bm7 is so much easier than the barre chord alternative. Also be careful with the last F#m which is a James Taylor special and purely barring your index finger across the entire second fret. Because he finger picks he completely avoids playing the A or D strings, and so should you or you will sound terrible!
Again, as well many other things you can do with these chords our Acoustic Intermediate Worship guitar DVD has a few choice James Taylor style licks designed for you to tastefully integrate into your worship leading and playing.
