advice needed

[pedro]

New to guitar playing, i now know the open chords and can play them clearly but have real difficulty changing smoothly between them, when i try to play even a very basic song the gaps between changes is just sooo slow. i know practice makes perfect but i seem to have come to a complete standstill and are becoming a bit disillusioned.
please help...

[Andromeda]

New to guitar playing, i now know the open chords and can play them clearly but have real difficulty changing smoothly between them, when i try to play even a very basic song the gaps between changes is just sooo slow. i know practice makes perfect but i seem to have come to a complete standstill and are becoming a bit disillusioned.
please help...

The only think I can say is make sure you're making the chords which allow as little motion for changing chords. Certain fingers really allow for quick changing. Otherwise all I can say is keep practicing it does get easier. I do remember those days and they will pass.

[Acoustic Rick]

At first try to change only between say two chords. Just go back and forth from a G to a C and back again. Once you get really smooth at those toss a D chord into the mix. By then you know enough to play tons of songs just using those three chords. Then as you progress you'll gradually increase your chord vocabulary and it'll be second nature to you. Best of luck and enjoy the ride!!

[sully151]

I am in the same boat as you. I felt pretty good about myself until a friend came over and was playing banjo. It was then I realized how slow I was.

Justin at justinguitar.com has an exercise where you pick two chords and see how many times you can change back and forth in a minute. Makes a game of it as you try to beat your last high score.

[JoeNewbie]

When dealing with a difficult chord, there's an exercise I've been doing forever that works really well for me.

1) Play the chord
2) Remove your hand off the fretboard and close it
3) Play the chord
4) Remove your hand, etc.

Do this hundreds of times if necessary -- and do it for each of the chords of the progression, if necessary. Now try your progression again...

Cheers,

Joe

[ianardo]

I'm still a beginner, and was in your position not so long ago - just keep that guitar cradled in your arms whenever you can, watching tv, waiting for something in the oven - and practise moving between two chords only continuously, it'll be a matter of a few days to a week before you'll feel like a pro - then comes the F chord :)

[Herb Hunter]

Once you get to the point where you can form a chord by placing all the appropriate fingers into position at once, rather than have to construct the chord one finger at a time, you will be able to change from one chord to another quickly.

I think JoeNewbie's advice below will help you accomplish this.

When dealing with a difficult chord, there's an exercise I've been doing forever that works really well for me.

1) Play the chord
2) Remove your hand off the fretboard and close it
3) Play the chord
4) Remove your hand, etc.

Do this hundreds of times if necessary -- and do it for each of the chords of the progression, if necessary. Now try your progression again...

Cheers,

Joe

[Ryler]

Just curious, Joe and Herb, how does closing your hand enable you to form a chord all at once more than removing your hand and not closing it? When you say closing it, you kind of mean forming a fist, yes?

[JoeNewbie]

Just curious, Joe and Herb, how does closing your hand enable you to form a chord all at once more than removing your hand and not closing it? When you say closing it, you kind of mean forming a fist, yes?

Yes, I form (sort of) a fist when I close my hand.

If you just remove your hand without closing it, you'll be tempted to cheat by keeping your fingers in the semi-right position. By closing your hand, it forces you to start from scratch every time -- and that's the way to go if you want to improve your speed.

I used this technique 20 years ago to learn my first chords -- and still use it to this day when I learn a challenging piece.

[Ryler]

Ah, thanks for explaining that. There are still certain scrunchy chords that I tend to stumble and pause with, so that helps. One of them is open G to a D7, if I'm looking at the fretboard, I'm fine, but if not, my ring finger is uncooperative on the F# note. It wants to land on the B string. I'll give your method a try.

[JoeNewbie]

You may find it hard at first but be patient... Most beginners don't realize how much work goes into practicing a few chords to make them sound clear and transition smoothly. But once you get the hang of it, you'll never look back.

[Blindreality]

I created a list of chords and would play 4 beats per chord and switch. I might have 50 combinations in the list (even those that don't make musical sense). C/D/G/F#m/A/F/C/G/Am/ and so on. The objective was to teach muscle memory. It taught me things like when going from D to Em7 you don't need to lift your ring finger. I'd practice the combos for hours until I got to the point where I didn't even have to think of where to put my fingers.

[dgrolem]

I taught guitar when I was in college back in the dark ages, and this was every student's question. I know it just takes practice, but what is the "secret"? The secret is hours of butt in the seat time. Thousands of hours actually...

[wcap]

I'll second the statement that it will probably take thousands of hours to master things to the point of starting to play some pieces really really well (so, maybe several years of playing an hour a day - well, that would be about 1000 hours I guess).

On one hand this might seem overwhelming and discouraging. But, especially if you are working on some pieces you enjoy and really want to learn, there are multiple small rewards along the way, as this piece or that piece gradually starts to come together. If you want to master this badly enough, you will actually enjoy the process a great deal.

So keep at it, and enjoy the ride along the way.

And before you know it you will be starting to sound pretty good.


In my case I played 5-string banjo badly for several years before things really started coming together. Two pieces over and over again, played badly for about a year, then started adding pieces. Nothing was played all that well for a while. But after about 3 years things really started to come together, and all of these pieces started sounding pretty good.

After about 30 years of banjo I got really seriously into guitar. Though I was not starting out from scratch (lots of technique transfered from banjo), it took me several years to start getting really comfortable with fingerstyle on guitar, and it took about 5 years (averaging no more than 1 hour of playing most days) before I was playing many, or any, of my fingerstyle pieces with enough reliability and precision to seriously consider performing them (e.g. in church) or recording them.

But I've had a blast getting to this point over the past 5 years or so, and I have a long way still to go.

[Ryler]

wcap,

I was inspired by reading your timeline of development. I've been at it 2+ years and am doing fingerstyle. The pauses that plague some of my finger transitions are my nemesis. Same pauses all the time. (If only I could consider them "rests" and part of the intended timing!)

One of the hardest pieces of advice to follow is to play each piece as slowly as your least adept measure, so as to keep even timing. Can't say I abide by that no matter how wise it is. But plug away I do. And I do enjoy it tremendously.

[Allman_Fan]

To the original poster, have you tried playing with someone else that is better than you? That way, you can play the first chord, they make the change and you come in on the new chord whenever you can.

You should still practice on your own of course. But this way, you can be making (contributing to) the music and maybe you won't be as disillusioned.

The thing is, once you get good, you have to do this for the others who are just starting out. You know, Karma!

[wcap]

wcap,

I was inspired by reading your timeline of development. I've been at it 2+ years and am doing fingerstyle. The pauses that plague some of my finger transitions are my nemesis. Same pauses all the time. (If only I could consider them "rests" and part of the intended timing!)

One of the hardest pieces of advice to follow is to play each piece as slowly as your least adept measure, so as to keep even timing. Can't say I abide by that no matter how wise it is. But plug away I do. And I do enjoy it tremendously.

For at least a year, maybe two, along the way I felt like I was simply never going to get any better. I was always going to be clumsy, and would never be able to play any of my pieces cleanly. But I kept playing, and there has been continual improvement. The most improvement, not surprisingly, comes when I play a LOT day after day (or most days of the week).

One thing that has really helped recently is starting to do some recording at home with a microphone and a Presonus Firebox hooked up to a laptop. It really raises the bar in a number of ways, and has forced me to really work on all the little nuances and things and not let them slide.

The matter of playing through slowly first is a tough one for me, because the first battle for me is to memorize the piece, and for that I have to play it through lots and lots of times, and I tend to play it faster than I'm able to do cleanly at this early stage. Then once I have it memorized I can work on playing it well. Maybe this is not the best way to proceed, but it seems to be what I always end up doing.

[dgrolem]

You have to enjoy the process, otherwise you are doomed. If your one and only goal is just to play X or Y, and the end product is all that matters, you will most likely fail. If practice is odious, then you won't make it. If however, you derive some joy from the process itself, it is much easier to stick to it.

[wcap]

You have to enjoy the process, otherwise you are doomed. If your one and only goal is just to play X or Y, and the end product is all that matters, you will most likely fail. If practice is odious, then you won't make it. If however, you derive some joy from the process itself, it is much easier to stick to it.

And adding to this...

I've never viewed any of this as practice. It's just playing the guitar, which I never seem to have enough time for. Looked at this way, its not drudgery. It's an obsession!

[dgrolem]

Unfortunately for me it took me decades to let go of the end result and just enjoy making the sound. I now love to pick up a guitar, where in times past I would look upon it as a chore. Practicing was a means to an end -- something to endure.

[random works]

I've played guitar for decades and although I can play some nice fingerstyle etc, I often just play a couple of chords slowly over and over. Granted, these are usually new chords in unusual configurations for me, but it's the same process. I listen to enjoy, play for clarity, listen, play, speed up until not so clear, then slow down until I get in the groove and enjoy what I am doing very much. At any level, busting through new material should have some satisfaction. Sometimes it's hard work, but then playing the guitar versus laying concrete block...not hard work to make those notes! One day you will throw down some chords while you are talking to someone or looking at something and realize you don't need to practice that particular chord anymore, just like you don't have to think about tying your shoes.

[arthur]

I had a student today dealing with this.

First off, I was never taught how to deal with this, most of us weren't. Eventually you will be able to change quickly, rest assured. Your brain will eventually figure out the best way to direct your fingers from one chord to the next and it will be taken care of. It's that simple.


if that's taking too long and you want results sooner rather than later, try this:

Play and chord and hold it, now envision the next chord. Then GO! Make the movement quick, like a jump. Even if it's sloppy at first.

Another thing to do is changing in time. Play a chord and hold for three beats and use beat four to move to the new chord:


strum-----------------------change ---- strum ----------------- change
1---------- 2 ---------3--------4----------1--------2--------3--------4

[Snoopy31]

I've been playing a year and felt like you at some point and here is what helped me. I don't know why but only certain fingers of certain chords give me trouble. As long as I can properly place my index finger for a C chord, the others seem to fall in place. As long as I can get my ring and pinky fingers down for a G the other fingers fall into place. So figure out if there are fingers you can get down first that will allow the others to quickly fall into place.

I've heard others disagree with what I said above, but it worked for me then, and a year later I can change among the basic open chords without the need for that method. So give it a try and see what happens.

Also, try changes that minimize finger movement. G to Cadd9. Or C to G7. Try songs like Wonderwall by Oasis, or Horse With No Name by America

Hang in there because eventually you will get it. If I can get it.....you can get it.

[arthur]

.

Also, try changes that minimize finger movement. G to Cadd9. Or C to G7. Try songs like Wonderwall by Oasis, or Horse With No Name by America


Yes.

Or chords that are similar in their geometry....say Am and E.

[pedro]

Thanks amigos for all you replys, plenty for me to absorb and try out.
Thanks again. :guitar:

[FLDavid]

. . .One of the hardest pieces of advice to follow is to play each piece as slowly as your least adept measure, so as to keep even timing. Can't say I abide by that no matter how wise it is. But plug away I do. And I do enjoy it tremendously.
I agree that it's a challenge
I try to engage / appreciate the beauty of the piece at the slower tempo