In music, a chop chord is a "clipped backbeat". In : . It is a muted

chord Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

that marks the

off-beat ''Off-Beat'' is a 1960 album by American jazz vocalist June Christy, arranged and conducted by Pete Rugolo. The tracks on the album were included on a 1997 double-CD re-issue under the title ''The Song Is June!'' Critical reception AllMusic wro ...

s or upbeats. As a

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

and

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s *Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by M ...

, it is accomplished through chucking, in which the

is muted by lifting the

fret A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical instrume ...

ting fingers immediately after

strumming In music, strumming is a way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, or mandolin. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a finger or plectrum brushes over several Strings (music), strings to generate sound. On most st ...

, producing a percussive effect. Traditional bluegrass bands typically do not have a drummer, and the timekeeping role is shared between several instruments. The upright bass generally plays the

on-beat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a pi ...

s, while the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

keeps a steady eighth-note rhythm. The

plays chop chords on the off-beats or upbeats. (see: boom-chick) By partially relaxing the fingers of the left hand soon after strumming, the strings are allowed to rise off the frets, and their oscillations are damped by the fingers. All strings are stopped ( fingered);

open strings ''Open Strings'' is an album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty, released in 1971 on vinyl by the MPS label. Track listing All songs written by Jean-Luc Ponty, except where noted. Side one #"Flipping, Pt.1" – 4:40 #"Flipping, Pt.2 ...

are not played in chop chords. The offbeat was played on the piano in rhythm and blues "shuffle" style, as heard in songs like

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

's "It's a Low-Down Dirty Shame" (1942) and Professor Longhair's "Wille Mae" (1949). This popular, danceable shuffle style was present on many early rock and roll records. It was played on the electric guitar at least as early as 1950 by Robert Kelton on Jimmy McCracklin's "Rockin' All Day." Either played on the guitar, piano or both, the "chop", "chuck" or "skank" offbeat eventually influenced Jamaican rhythm and blues of the 1950s, which morphed into ska in late 1962, then rocksteady and reggae, all of which featured the offbeat "chuck" or "skank" guitar.

Guitar

The "chuck" usually consists of a downward strum on the up beat notes. Alternatively, the bass note can be played and allowed to ring, with the remainder of the chord being "chucked" on the up beat. This technique is usually used in a rhythmically simple manner, such as chucking on every beat, or bass notes on down beats and chucking on up beats. Freddie Green, Django Reinhardt and

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

are known for this technique.

Mandolin

Mandolin "chunks", or more commonly known as "chops", rarely include a down-beat strum. When a mandolin is playing rhythm it is most often in conjunction with other instruments, such as guitar and bass, which produce the main beat. The mandolin contributes to the rhythm by producing a sharp "chunk" on the upbeat notes. This is particularly common when playing

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

. According to Andy Statman, "the mandolin can drive and push the band in the same way (as) a snare drum."Statman, Andy (1978). ''Teach Yourself Bluegrass Mandolin'', . Amsco Music Company, New York. .

Fiddle

The chop was introduced to fiddle playing by Richard Greene in the 1960s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chop chord Bluegrass music Folk music String performance techniques Bill Monroe

Guitar

Mandolin

Fiddle

See also

References