Hot Blooded Guitar Chords

Hot Blooded Guitar Chords

“Hot Blooded” by Foreigner is a great example of using suspended fourth chords on guitar. The main guitar chord riff in the opening and chorus is based on the three major chords in G major, G, C and D. By number these chords make a I IV V (1 4 5) chord progression. A perfect fourth is added to each chord making Gsus4, Csus4 and Dsus4.

In my Hot Blooded guitar tab excerpt (click the hyperlink) you see three different ways you can play these chord changes on the guitar fretboard. The first example, E-Gt, stays in the open position. E-Gt 2 plays sus4 chord shapes drawn from partial “E form” barre chords along the 6th string, E. E-Gt 3 moves over to the 5th string, A, and uses “A form” barre chords.

One interesting feature of this chord progression is the use of a perfect fourth over the IV chord, C. The fourth degree of the major scale does not naturally produce a perfect fourth. Instead in has a sharp fourth (#4th). In the key of the G, the C chord’s fourth is F#. Nevertheless, guitarists usually play perfect fourths over the IV chord, a type of modal interchange. Notice the natural sign in the notation that cues the player to use an F-natural on Csus4 in place of the F# reflected in the key signature.

Full Hot Blooded Guitar Tab at Musicnotes.com.

To learn more about guitar theory including scales, chords, progressions, modes see my instructional courses on the store page.