Defensive Guitar: How to Trim the Fat & Stop Playing So Damn Many Notes

Intermediate
Intermedaite
- Develop a better sense of harmony and rhythm.
- Create more interesting comping patterns.
- Learn how to outline harmony without using chords.
The intersection between guitar and piano is ever present—and so is the potential for harmonic conflict, especially when improvising. However, guitar and piano can be a wonderful combination. Listen to the recordings of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, or Jim Hall and Bill Evans for stellar examples. But if your ears aren’t turned up it can be a recipe for disaster.
Often, the paradigm on the bandstand is that if there is a harmonic clash between the guitar and piano, it’s automatically the guitar player’s fault. So how do we deal with this? There are a couple of methods to take a more defensive approach, but the one we’ll address is to learn which notes to omit. Trim down those chords and be nimbler and stronger. Chords with more than two or three notes are, for our purposes, a full-on failure. The good news is that these lean-and-mean chords are easy to play and, within the context of the band, sound way better than the ubiquitous barre chord.
The basis of the chords we’re looking at are subsets of chords that are likely already very familiar to you (Ex. 1)
The “money” in these chord forms is literally in the middle of the chord. On the 3rd and 4th strings lie the 3 and 7 of the chords. These are the most important two notes of your chord. The different variations of the 3 and 7 give each chord its unique color, such as major 7, dominant 7, or minor 7.
If we reduce these chords to their essence, we get the shape in Ex. 2. This trims down the Bb7 to Ab and D, while the C7 is simply the E and Bb. These notes are sometimes referred to as guide tones. We’ll move this shape up or down the fretboard to accommodate each required chord quality.
Ex. 2
We’re only going to use two other interval shapes in addition to the tritone. In Ex. 3 you can see a perfect fourth on the left and a perfect fifth on the right. They are super easy to play and ultra-effective in our journey to more defensive guitar playing. Feel free to use whatever fingering suits you.
Let’s put these shapes in context. In Ex. 4 you can see how these shapes work with a 6th-string root (top row) and a 5th-string root (bottom row). I’ve included the root notes simply for reference and to help you better visualize the shapes. In a solo setting you may even want to include the roots.
An excellent “closet organizer” for musical data is the 12-bar jazz blues form. In Ex. 5 I use our core family of shapes to work through an entire progression. I’ve made sure to include dominant, major, minor, and diminished chords in this example. The first step should be to play it with the roots and then try to “hear” the roots while playing only the guide tones.
The absolute undisputed king of playing these types of chords is Freddie Green, who was the longtime guitarist in the Count Basie Band. He made an entire career of playing quarter-note rhythms and being the glue that held the rhythm section together. In Ex. 6 you can how Green might play a 12-bar blues in Bb. Check out the chromatic movement in the last two measures. It’s amazing how smooth you’re able to connect the chords using only two notes.
Admittedly, the rhythm is a bit bland and feels sterile. In Ex. 7 I play the exact same chords but add in a bit of chromatic movement and some offbeat rhythms. The occasional extension (9, 11, or 13) is cool, but pick your spots wisely. Listen to the piano and look for your space.
This same concept can be applied to your single-note improvisations as well. In fact, this is a valuable step in learning to play over changes. The goal is to outline the chords so well that your ear can imagine the harmony going by. In Ex. 8 you can see how I might approach this. Notice the lack of “blues licks.”
While it always looks cool on your IG page to be seen playing stretchy Alan Holdsworth-looking chords, sometimes it’s the simple and economic approach that goes down easiest. Whether comping behind a singer, playing with a jazz big band or playing chords and walking bass Joe Pass-style, the defensive approach to harmony can oftentimes be your ticket to ride.
Empress Effects is proud to announce the release of the Bass ParaEq, a bass-specific parametric EQ pedal.
Building on the success of their acclaimed ParaEq MKII series, which has already gained popularity with bassists, the Bass ParaEq offers the same studio-grade precision but with features tailored for bass instruments.
Basses of all types – including electric and upright basses with active and passive electronics – can benefit from the Bass ParaEq’s tone-sculpting capabilities.
The new pedal follows the success of the Empress Bass Compressor and ParaEq MKII Deluxe, which have become some of the company’s best-reviewed and top-selling products. The Bass Compressor’s popularity confirmed what Empress had long suspected: bassists are eager for tools built with their needs in mind, not just adaptations of guitar gear.
The Bass ParaEq retains the line’s powerful 3-band parametric EQ and studio-style features while introducing a bass-optimized frequency layout, a selectable 10MΩ Hi-Z input for piezo-equipped instruments, a dynamically-adjusted low shelf, and automatic balanced output detection—perfect for live and studio use alike.
The Bass ParaEq also offers an output boost, adjustable by a dedicated top-mounted knob and activated by its own footswitch, capable of delivering up to 30dB of boost. It’s perfect for helping your bass punch through during key moments in live performance.
Whether dialing in clarity for a dense mix or compensating for an unfamiliar venue, the Bass ParaEq offers precise tonal control in a compact, road-ready form. With 27V of internal headroom to prevent clipping from even the hottest active pickups, the Bass ParaEq is the ultimate studio-style EQ designed to travel.
Key features of the Bass ParaEq include:
- Adjustable frequency bands tailored for bass instruments
- Selectable 10MΩ Hi-Z input for upright basses and piezo pickups
- Auto-detecting balanced output for long cable runs and direct recording
- Three sweepable parametric bands with variable Q
- High-pass, low-pass, low shelf, and high shelf filters
- Transparent analog signal path with 27V of internal headroom
- Buffered bypass switching
- Powered by standard 9V external supply, 300mA (no battery compartment)
The Bass ParaEq is now shipping worldwide. It can be purchased from the Empress Effects website for $374 USD and through authorized Empress dealers globally.
PG contributor Tom Butwin reveals his favorite songwriting secret weapon: the partial capo. Watch how the Shubb C7 and C8 can simulate alternate tunings without retuning your guitar—and spark fresh creative ideas instantly.
Shubb C8b Partial Capo for Drop-D Tuning - Brass
The C8 covers five of the six strings, leaving either the low E or high E string open, depending on how it's positioned.
- Standard setup: Placed on the 2nd fret while leaving the low E string open, it simulates Drop D-style sounds—except you're still in standard tuning (key of E). You get that big, droning bass feel without retuning.
- Reverse setup: Flipping the capo allows the high E string to ring, giving you shimmering drones and new melodic options across familiar chord shapes.
- A flexible tool that lets you simulate alternate tunings and create rich sonic textures—all while keeping your guitar in standard tuning.
Shubb C7b Partial Capo for DADGAD Tuning - Brass
The C7 covers three of the six strings—either D, G, and B or A, D, and G—depending on how it's flipped.
- Typical setup (D, G, B): Creates an open A chord shape at the 2nd fret without needing your fingers. This frees you up for new voicings and droning notes in the key of A.
- Reversed setup (A, D, G): Gets you close to a DADGAD-style tuning vibe, but still keeps you in standard tuning—great for modal, spacious textures often found in folk or cinematic guitar parts.
Use it alone or stack it with the C8 for wild, layered effects and truly out-of-the-box inspiration.
PRS Guitars celebrates 40 years with the limited edition McCarty SC56. Featuring vintage-inspired design and modern innovations, this single-cutaway guitar pays tribute to Ted McCarty and his impact on the industry. With only 400 pieces available, this instrument is a must-have for collectors and performers alike.
PRS Guitars today announced the 40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition. With a classic PRS single-cutaway body shape and carefully chosen specifications, the McCarty SC56 is both a tribute to tradition and a reliable tool for the modern performer. Only 400 pieces will be made.
“The SC56, signifying Singlecut and 1956, model is our most recent tribute to my late mentor Ted McCarty and his impact on the guitar industry. We started with our take on a classic late ‘50s singlecut body. 1956 marks the year that Ted first had guitars made with his newly coined 'humbucker' pickups. It also happens to be the year I was born. Bringing vintage design into the modern era, we loaded this model with our McCarty III pickups, meticulously designed to deliver warm, clear, vintage tone with exceptional note separation and dynamics,” said PRS Guitars Founder & Managing General Partner, Paul Reed Smith.
Anchored by a maple top and mahogany back, the 24.594” scale length and 22-fret Pattern Vintage neck work with Phase III non-locking tuners and PRS two-piece bridge to promote its musical sustain. The PRS McCarty III pickups are controlled by a simple layout — two volume controls, two tone controls, and a three-way toggle on the upper bout.
Single-cutaway guitars are known to be heavier than their double-cutaway counterparts. The McCarty SC56 Limited Edition design incorporates weight-relief, decreasing the weight of the guitar by about 2/3 of a pound, while maintaining several points of attachment between the guitar top and back to eliminate the “hollow” sound of the cavities and promote tone transfer.
With appointments like binding on the fretboard, classic bird inlays, and a vintage-inspired nitrocellulose finish, the 40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition blends heritage and innovation into a timeless instrument.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition | Demo | PRS Guitars - YouTube
The Future Impact V4 is an incredibly versatile pedal with an exceptional range of sounds. In addition to producing synthesizer sounds such as basses, leads and pads, it can function as an octaver, chorus, flanger, phaser, distortion, envelope filter, traditional wah-wah, tremolo, reverb, etc., and even has a built-in tuner. It can potentially replace an entire pedalboard of dedicated single-effect pedals.
The very powerful signal processor of the Future Impact V4 is able to replicate the various oscillator, filter, amplifier and envelope generator blocks found in classic synthesizers. In addition, it contains signal processing blocks more traditionally used for processing the sound of an instrument such as a harmonizer block and audio effects such as chorus, distortion and EQ. These architectures complement each other in a very flexible way.
Setting the standard for the bass guitar synth pedals since 2015, together with an enthusiastic community and long line of great artists, the Future Impact V4 is the guitar synth platform for the next decade.