Changing chords and strumming - Help

[Michellelee]

Newbie in guitar only 5 weeks in and I am finding it so hard to change chords (very slowly one finger at a time!) and try and strum even a down down strum any advice please

[lowrider]

just keep working on it. Everyone goes through it in the beginning.

Just keep playing!

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Everybody has gone through the same exact thing. It'll come.

[Goat Mick]

Everyone who has ever taken up guitar has dealt with this issue to some degree. What I did when I was learning was to keep a guitar on my lap while I was watching TV and just kinda mindlessly go through chords while I was relaxing. All you really need to do is run your thumb across the strings to make sure you're fretting everything cleanly and then go to the next chord. You'll be surprised at how quickly your fingers get educated doing this.

[Peter Z]

Originally Posted by Michellelee

Newbie in guitar only 5 weeks in and I am finding it so hard to change chords (very slowly one finger at a time!) and try and strum even a down down strum any advice please

TOTALLY normal! You don’t have to worry about it at all. Just play regularly and you will get fast.

[mr. beaumont]

This is one of those things that just needs LOTS and LOTS of repetition.

Are you working with a teacher? If not, any way you could make a short video of your fretting hand during those chord changes? Just trying to rule out any unecessary/uneconomical movements that could be slowing you down more than normal.

But really, slow is VERY normal.

[YamahaGuy]

If you're going to sing along, be sure to practice that way. Same goes for standing and playing. Best advice I was ever given: practice how you plan to play, i.e. standing up with a strap, singing into a microphone, etc.

As others have said, faster chord changes will come. It takes time and practice. Be sure to learn different ways to play chords too. There is a way to progress through G Em7 Cadd9 and D only having to move fingers 1 and 2, while leaving 3 and 4 anchored (mostly).

[raysachs]

There is no shortcut. You just have to keep doing it and over time, it’ll get easier. There are a LOT of guitar players on this forum, some are very accomplished players, a lot of us are hacks who play well enough to have a lot of fun, but that’s about it. And EVERY SINGLE GUITAR PLAYER IN THE WORLD went through exactly what you’re going through. It feels like it must be impossible for quite a while. And then it transitions into just being really hard, but somehow sort of possible. And then somewhat less hard. But if you stay with it, it will eventually get pretty much automatic, unconscious even, and then the hard part will be the even harder chords you didn’t even TRY when you were new to it because the simple chords were already impossible.

The harder it is at the beginning, the more rewarding it is when it gets easy. So hang in there and keep working at it.

-Ray

[Chriscom]

All of the above and I'll add this: A little bit every single day is better than three hours once or twice a week. Couch-surfing + strumming is a good approach, but no matter what you surely can fit in at least 15 minutes day--and usually that turns into more.

Five weeks is nothing when starting from scratch, give it time.

[Michellelee]

Thank you all so much I’m
Playing about 2 hours a night, well when I say playing I’m making noise. I feel really encouraged because it really is hard to coordinate both hands and trying to sing tonight is felt impossible but I will not give up no matter what!

[JackC1]

Hey, everybody's right: it'll take a while for you to change effortlessly.

There's one thing that you can do to maybe help. Make sure you are playing the easier chords first. Kind of like rock climbing doing the lower grades first. So, are you doing E, A ,D chords? those are easier than , say, C , G, F.

Have fun!

[Birdbrain]

When I'm learning a new chord (and I sure don't know 'em all), it helps to repeatedly form that chord, strum, and then release your fingers. Repeat that ten or twenty times, than go on to another chord. Repetition helps build muscle memory, and the concentrated repetition teaches your fingers good habits.

[frankmcr]

Take two simple chords. I would recommend A and E. Tune up your guitar and just sit there and switch back & forth between those two chords. Take your time. When you can switch seamlessly, all the notes on target and clear, add one more chord. I suggest D. Alternate the three until (as above). Then G. Then C. Don't rush. Play the chords in any order: you're not learning chords as such, you're training your fingers. I don't know about watching TV or other distractions. It may seem boring, but it is the most fundamental skill there is and it's important to concentrate and make sure you've got your fingers 100% under control.

[K20C]

We’ve all been through it. Patience and perseverance and you’ll get past it, as well.

[Cecil6243]

And don't worry about singing and playing at the same time until later.