Hello all.

I've found that if I use an F# as a bass note in a D chord (whether including it in a strum or as one of an alternating bass pattern) or a B as a bass note in a G chord, it sounds OK; maybe a little less "straight up" than a tonic or dominant note, but still acceptable.

On the other hand, using the open E string in a C chord, or using the open A below a 4-string F chord doesn't sound right.

On a theoretical basis, this discrepancy doesn't seem to make sense; in all four of these cases the note in question is the third degree of the chord.

Do other people hear a difference between the first two cases and the last two cases? Can anyone explain why there would be a difference?

Marion