Barre chord vs bicord question

[mementus]

I ever wondered what is the difference between playing a Barre chord Vs a bi-chord?

Let's say you are a rhytm guitar on a rock band, and now you have to follow the bass's fundamentals while the second guitar is going riffs, octaves and solo.

Now what's the different btween a barre-chord and a bi-chord?

TY

[Gamma-UT]

You only have so many fingers on the fretting hand, so I'd imagine most bi-chords will be barre chords in practice. Like this one: http://chord-a-day.blogspot.co.uk/2013/ ... uitar.html

[BertKoor]

I know what barre chords are: the opposite of open chords, so laying the index finger flat on the fretboard and using the other fingers to form chords (usually based on E and A shapes.)

But what do you mean by a "bi-chord"? Wikipedia suggests it's a chord that consists of two chords stacked onto each other. For rock I can't imagine that's useful, much too muddy sounding. You'd do the opposite: leave out the third which gives a power chord. I play power chords simular to barre chords, but only strum the lowest three strings and damp/mute the highest three.

[edit] Ah I see... Barre refers to the left-hand fingering technique only, bichord and power chord are about the selection of notes. Bichords and power chords can be played open also (if the open strings contribute to the chord ofcourse.)

[tapper mike]

You won't hear... poly chords in rock songs for the most part. It's too rich and complex. You may hear one per song at best. You also may hear them occasionally in songs by Toto or Steely Dan.

When guitarists pull off poly chords usually one guitarist will voice one of the chords while another guitarist plays a different one (in a rock band) often however in a rock sense you may hear guitarist and playing part of the poly chord and the keyboard player playing a different chord. (Winwood, Rundgren)

There are things called open moveables....Which can contain slightly complex harmonies. This is when you use one or more open strings and then connect them with both standard chords and less standard chords.

If you look at my attachment you'll see three chords.
Open E - F#m Add 11 and G#m over E

This is the start of various songs including Melissa by the Allman Brothers, House on Pooh Corner - Loggins and Messina and a few more. The second chord(F#m) retains the E characteristics sans the 3rd of E and the Third chord can also be thought of as a Emaj7.

More often then not in the world of pop/rock "Over" otherwise known as "Slash" chords operate in the same manner as bi/poly chords. However simplified....

[jancivil]

Nice chords there. Y'know the third one really turns out to be EMaj7 doncha

[jancivil]

classic KVR Music Theory business, a strange topic title, an in-the-know reply but we're still not sure about the question really, it starts taking on a life of its own as OP vacates the bldg. never to be heard from again

[nineofkings]

Nice chords there. Y'know the third one really turns out to be EMaj7 doncha

Depends on the bassist

[jancivil]

No, the bassist can do G# (below that E, even) and it it is still E G# B D#. Particularly with this guitar voicing. No way. Now if the guitarist - this is strictly from hypothetical/for the purposes of argument - did some smaller, closer voicing and the bassist does G#, really fat, you could get into 'G#m|m6" (but I wouldn't).

and as the thread turns, whence the OP? splitsville, daddyo