In this video
In this very special Halloween guitar lesson, we look at how to play what has become known as 'The Devils Chord' and the 'Chord Of Evil'! We also look at how to play something called Death Chords - this is a guitar lesson not for the faint hearted!
The Devils Interval
This little devil has it's roots in renaissance music. These darkly tones are largely responsible to the birth of Heavy Metal! They are essential to the sound of the song Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath (1:45 in my video) and has since been found in 100s of heavy tunes, such as the main riff of Enter Sandman by Metallica!
It has since been used in the Theme music of bothThe Simpsons (2:40 in my video) andSouth Park (3:00 in my video). It is also found in the opening tones of Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix (2:21 in my video)
Known in music theory as an augmented 4th, this interval or chord was BANNED in renaissance times by the Church, and severe penalties ensued if you sneaked this into a piece of music.
Death Chords
The first finger needs to extend higher to hold down string 6 as well as string 5, creating a deeper, darker sound - especially when played on electric guitar with some overdrive!