Chord fingering precision

[Whaleblue]

Jon,

Thanks for taking the time to post that. It really does help to hear from others who have been there and come through the other side.

As you've probably worked out, I have a tendancy to overthink some of this stuff, but I'll just try to get with it and see what happens.

[NilsG]

You could always claim that slurring and mangling the chords is, in fact, doing variations on the theme.

[Whaleblue]

Originally Posted by NilsG

You could always claim that slurring and mangling the chords is, in fact, doing variations on the theme.

Very true!

[NilsG]

In fact, that is sometimes how a variation starts - an inspired mistake, if you don't mind.

[billder99]

Playing clean chords and clean notes is only one aspect of playing guitar, and not the most important aspect IMO. A great player and teacher told me, "You can play wrong chords, or jangly chords or notes, or forget the lyrics and just mumble something... no one listening will even notice. Miss you timing and everyone in the room will cringe. Timing is everything."

Don't stop playing songs at tempo! That is where you really learn your timing... especially coordinating with lyrics (if you sing).

Your playing will naturally get cleaner over time with regular playing... you have to listen to yourself to hear the parts where you are having difficulty. Slow those way down, play, repeat ad infinitum. It just takes time and practice, and for most of us it comes pretty slowly.