Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Chord Clarification

Can someone please clarify a (beginner) chord question? Why is a specific chord noted above a measure and only one note of that chord played within the measure ? Couldn’t the note simply be fingered as usual without any chord designation ?

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I believe that chord is there for backup purposes, so if you’re playing backup to someone’s break you will know what chord to vamp or roll (in the case of a banjo)

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Hi @kooseman Steve

The Chord Letter above a measure is to give you a visual indication of what the chord (chord progression) is being played over that measure (tune). Sometimes you’ll come across two Chord letters G D This gives you an indication of a split measure where the first part of the measure is over a G chord whist the second half of the measure is over the D chord.

It’s often not a requirement that you need to make a full chord shape, just fret the strings as shown. As you study & gain experience all this just comes natural. Best advice I can offer is to follow @Banjoben beginners learning track. Ben explains all this far better than I can

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Thanks for clarifying.

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