Help with chord dexterity

[SunnyDee]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Playing extremely slow can allow bad habits to form. Vary your tempo as you practice to ferret out the use
of bad technique (i.e. what works at slow tempo but not but well, or at all, at a faster tempo).

I'm not sure people were referring to playing in slow tempo, I wasn't. I was saying to slow the motion of the change to bullet time, super slow... so you can find the error you're making when you are playing in time. Like... when I first started, I got a buzz almost every time I changed to an open C, even after months, so annoying! But I finally slowed it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down and in just a moment I realized I was just slightly rolling my ring finger away from the fret. As soon as I found that tiny error, I never had that problem again.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by SunnyDee

I'm not sure people were referring to playing in slow tempo, I wasn't. I was saying to slow the motion of the change to bullet time, super slow... so you can find the error you're making when you are playing in time. Like... when I first started, I got a buzz almost every time I changed to an open C, even after months, so annoying! But I finally slowed it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down and in just a moment I realized I was just slightly rolling my ring finger away from the fret. As soon as I found that tiny error, I never had that problem again.

Just mix it up tempo wise to seek out what works most efficiently and error free. There are different types of errors that show up at different tempos.
Doing so and you can find out if you are practicing something that only works when played slowly.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

Newbie here. I am learning basic chords, finger configuration and placement on fret board. I find that I am putting fingers down individually rather than together as a group - like searching for the right spot for each digit. Especially for the bigger stretches (for me), like D minor and G7 and G. Are there some drills or or techniques that I can do to get over this?
Many thanks for the help.

Hi D1

One simple left-hand-only exercise is to put the fingers properly in place and without playing just relax, and lift them up ½" and put them gently back down as a group. No playing or strumming, just moving relaxed chords with the fretting hand.

Repeat this a dozen times then relax the hand and switch chords.

After you master the ½" then pick a typical chord to switch to the chord from (like Am to Dm) and then do the same relaxed exercise (without strumming or picking) of putting the fingers in place on Am and then slowly pick them up as a group and place them as a group on Dm. Then switch back and forth. No timing, no pressure, just learning to move the fingers as a group.

Another typical pair is C to G7 (you listed G7) and you can do the same relaxed switching without playing till your hands learn the position.

This is a simple exercise which can be adapted to all your different chord learning scenarios. Doing it without playing gives you the ability to stay focused, not rush, and help your brain/fingers learn chords.

Hope this adds to the discussion…

[BobbyMocha]

Originally Posted by Imbler

I'm a big believer in slow practice. I played piano for many years, but am learning guitar in retirement.



The theory is to practice as slowly as you need to in order to always or nearly always play it correctly.



Human nature has us practicing at too high a speed which makes for mistakes and sloppy playing.



But that is teaching the mind to play incorrectly. I started making much faster progress when I embraced this theory.



It is also ok to speed through the easy parts, but slow down on the difficult ones to play them correctly. Just avoid learning "mistakes".



I may play the problem areas 20 times for each time I play through the whole thing. That really focusses me on the areas where I need to improve.

There's a book out there called (or something close to this) "The Brain and The Guitar" and that's something the scientists harped on. Practice with exaggerated slowness, like you're making the chord shape in Super Slowmo. This focused, exaggerated movement forces the finger placement to be burned deeper in subconscious, and creates many more neural connections across several areas of the brain than just repetitive practice.

It's helped me a ton

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi D1

One simple left-hand-only exercise is to put the fingers properly in place and without playing just relax, and lift them up ½" and put them gently back down as a group. No playing or strumming, just moving relaxed chords with the fretting hand.

Larry, OP. I will give this a go. But what comes to mind is how you know if your technique is good, and the fingers are where they should be, if you do not sound the chord.

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by BobbyMocha

This focused, exaggerated movement forces the finger placement to be burned deeper in subconscious, and creates many more neural connections across several areas of the brain than just repetitive practice.

It's helped me a ton

I will check that book out. Thanks, mate.

[ragincajun]

A little off topic, but in the same ballpark and something I wish I’d learned a long time ago is that sometimes there are more than one way to finger a chord even in the same position. A good example is the G chord. For years I thought “this is how you play it” until I watched bluegrass guys switch from a C to a G or vice versa. It really changed the speed with which I could change chords when I started fretting them differently for a given situation.

Like I said, it’s a little off topic, but if you’re having trouble fretting the chord one way, there may be another.

[Imbler]

Originally Posted by BobbyMocha

There's a book out there called (or something close to this) "The Brain and The Guitar" and that's something the scientists harped on. Practice with exaggerated slowness, like you're making the chord shape in Super Slowmo. This focused, exaggerated movement forces the finger placement to be burned deeper in subconscious, and creates many more neural connections across several areas of the brain than just repetitive practice.

It's helped me a ton

"The Talent Code" is another book about this. I'm an absolute believer.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

Larry, OP. I will give this a go. But what comes to mind is how you know if your technique is good, and the fingers are where they should be, if you do not sound the chord.

Hi D1

Go ahead and make sure the fingers are holding down the proper notes, and then begin the exercise. And as you become more proficient, add a simple strumming exercise (I've used this exercise with beginners for decades). But learning to switch without using the strumming/picking hand allows you to focus your attention on the switch till it becomes second nature. Then when you are ready to learn to switch to/from it, I've included the next exercise I've taught for decades.



Very basic, and it works to help players learn to switch and stay in rhythm.

Two quarter notes and a half note, then two quarter notes and a half note and switch on the 4th beat (technically 3 quarter notes and switch).

Hope this helps clarify and push you down the road a bit further toward learning to switch to/from difficult chords.

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

Are there some drills or or techniques that I can do to get over this?
Many thanks for the help.

Yeah, stop worrying about it.
Seriously.
It is similar to the advice to not watch your hands while playing.
Rubbish.
It will all come naturally with time.
Just learn some new songs and have fun.
It is called playing.

[rwmct]

For me, IMO, I like to work on stuff within the context of an actual song rather than in a drill.

And while there are lots of good suggestions above, in the end IMO it comes down to playing the things you are learning again and again and again and again. And then play them some more.

[Deliberate1]

Friends, OP here. I am grateful for all the advice that ranges from the mechanical to the spiritual. Rather like the guitar, it seems to me. I will put it all to good use.
Cheers.

[jaymarsch]

It is also helpful to really break down what chord you are playing and with which fingers on one chord and then break down the second chord you will be moving to in the same way. Pay attention to how you move your fingers through the transition. Are you picking up a finger off of a string when maybe all that it required is to stay on the string and slide up one fret? Are you paying attention to how far your fingers come away from the fret board? Maybe you are creating way more movement than is necessary. Cleaning up these seemingly small things can make a huge difference in both changing chords cleanly and getting both better tone and better timing. Hope this helps.

Best,
Jayne

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

It is also helpful to really break down what chord you are playing and with which fingers on one chord and then break down the second chord you will be moving to in the same way. Pay attention to how you move your fingers through the transition. Are you picking up a finger off of a string when maybe all that it required is to stay on the string and slide up one fret? Are you paying attention to how far your fingers come away from the fret board? Maybe you are creating way more movement than is necessary. Cleaning up these seemingly small things can make a huge difference in both changing chords cleanly and getting both better tone and better timing. Hope this helps.

Best,
Jayne

Yes, to all, Jayne. The more time I spend with it, the more I can see mechanical economies. I am sure it is beginners reflexes that the fingers come flying off the fret board after every chord. I am trying to tame that.