Soul chord fills: triads with hammer-ons
Small chord shapes on the top three strings, A, D and E, each reached by hammering on from the note below and followed by a little melody on the top strings. This is how soul and R&B guitarists play rhythm, and how many rock players fill between vocal lines: chord and melody at once, in one hand position, instead of strumming full chords.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 90 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 90 bpm
- Starts at
- 54 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
Hold the whole triad shape before you hammer, and play the fill notes from that shape rather than moving the hand.
Each bar starts with a hammer-on on the G string into a note of the chord: B to C sharp, the third of A; C to D for D; D to E for E. Then two notes of the chord on the B and high E strings and the whole triad on beat 3: A is C sharp, E and A at the 6th, 5th and 5th frets of the G, B and high E strings, D is D, F sharp and A at the 7th, 7th and 5th, E is E, G sharp and B at the 9th, 9th and 7th.
After the chord a small melody on the top strings: B and A over A, G and F sharp over D, C sharp and B over E. Bar 4 goes from D back to A with a pull-off on the B string from F sharp to E.
Play with a clean, warm sound, the neck pickup if you have a choice, and keep everything light: these fills sit under a singer.
Mistakes to watch for
- Hammering on so softly that the chord's third is lost.
- Moving the hand for each fill note instead of reaching from the chord shape.
- Letting the low strings ring; only the top three should sound.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 54
- 59
- 63
- 68
- 72
- 77
- 81
- 86
- 90
That's 16 loops and about 4 minutes before you're playing at 90 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play Soul chord fills?
The goal is 90 bpm in eighth notes, which is 3 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 54 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What are triads on guitar?
Three-note chords, here on the top three strings: the root, third and fifth in some order. They're smaller and brighter than full chords, so they leave room for other instruments, which is why soul and funk players use them.
What music uses this kind of rhythm guitar?
Soul, R&B, Motown and a lot of rock ballads. Guitarists like Curtis Mayfield and Steve Cropper played rhythm this way, and many rock players use it between vocal lines.
More rock and blues exercises
All 24 rock and blues exercises · Scales on the neck · Fretboard notes trainer · All 107 exercises