Playing and improvising with confidence during a ballad requires a knowledge of the chord progression and sensitivity to the melody. Melodies are more specific than chord progressions as they distinguish one song from another. For this reason chord progressions can't be copyrighted but melodies can.

Example 25a

This example is the intro to "Few and Far Between" by Melbourne band "The Need".
Two guitars play over this progession leaving plenty of space to create a more delicate feel.

Example 25b

The chord progression of G to C is handy for practicing melodic solos as it is so open. When chords share the same notes a progression is made even smoother. Notice how the C chord (which would normally have an open E string) has an additional G note on the third fret making it sound even better with the G chord.

Continuing this idea of common notes between chords, the following alternative also has a D note on the B string in both chords . This D note is already in a G chord but it becomes an added 9th in the C chord.

Example 25c

The first chord in this progression is played on beat 1 but the other chords are played as arpeggios and then left to ring out together. Arpeggios are just the notes of a chord played individually. It is common to write arpeggiated chords out like this rather than using numerous tie symbols in each bar. Even more common is to only show the chord symbols or just the chord names unless it's a classical piece where the guitar has the melody and exact notes written on the stave.

Example 25d

If you play through this example you'll notice that your left-hand fingers form certain chord shapes such as C, Dmin and G.

Example 25e

The speaker icon contains an additional variation after the initial chord progression.

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