In this video
I'm coming to you live from Barcelona with my signature Brunswick acoustic for a deep dive into E chord embellishments — one of the most important sessions in the ongoing Chord Explorer series, following on from C, D and G.
I start by breaking down all the essential E chord extensions you need to know: E6, E7, E dominant seventh, and E major seven, with on-screen diagrams showing the intervals behind each one. Rather than just learning shapes, I want you to understand the numbers — because once you see chords as intervals, embellishments and melodies suddenly start to make a lot more sense.
From there we move into octaves in the key of E — how to find them all over the neck, how to mute cleanly with the index finger, and how to use them musically. I touch on songs like High and Dry, Cherub Rock, Motorcycle Emptiness and Purple Haze to show how this technique works in real playing contexts.
The second half goes deeper into the CAGED system in E, covering major, dominant seventh and minor chord shapes all the way up the neck, and how understanding these unlocks acoustic blues, rock and everything in between. We look at songs by Hendrix, John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Beatles and more, and I finish with a full sing-along run through Pride and Joy to show how embellishments fit naturally in the gaps between vocal phrases — which is really the whole point.
Along the way there's chat about new courses coming from guest teacher Fraser (metal lead and jazz bootcamp), tips on staying motivated during time away from the guitar, fretboard knowledge exercises you can do on a plane, and a heads-up about upcoming live streams while I'm away at Primavera Festival.