here's one for you: put your first finger across the 7th fret barring the first 5 strings (EBGDA). add your second finger to the 8th fret on the 2nd string (B string). what chord do you get? what do you want to call it? name all of the notes that you have under your fingers. then think it through this way: if E is the root, what would the other notes be and then what could i call this chord? if A is the root, what could i call it; if G is the root, etc. etc. ready for answers? the notes are, from the bass notes to the high notes: EADGB. sound familiar? like the way the guitar is tuned. so, if E is the root, then here's how it lines up: E-1, A-11, D-b7, G-b3, B-5. so let's call it E-7(11). nice chord. continue on with each note taking a turn being the root (what would the bass player play) and get a new chord name each time. that's a baragin. but don't stop there- what if the bass player plays a C? how about F? keep going. let me know what you come up with. it's a great deal when you can grab a pretty easy to grab chord ("nice holds" as they say in nashville) and be able to use it in so many contexts. answers next time. or you tell me. what's new? well, i am wrapping up the semester at berklee, i have tilled the garden, i got strawberry and raspberry plants in the mail, i played a fun gig with dave clark and willie sordillo, one coming up with cercie miller and dave clark on may 25th, and i have been solidifying some writing ideas. i have been sleep deprived. oh, and i have been playing with betty, my new puppy. really, i've just been mostly doing that last thing. playing, feeding, caring for, training, cuddling with, being horrified by, being awestruck by betty, elizabeth the great, the smartest cutest most mischievous little yellow lab in the world. she's the only being in my life who couldn't care less about the condition of my hands. guitar player, schmitar player- i'm biting them. sleep, schmeep-let's go outside. ok, cutie-i'll be right there.