By Mike Philippov
Changing chords on guitar is one of the most important skills you must master in order to start having a lot more fun playing music on your instrument. Ironically, it is also the area that many musicians struggle with in the earlier stages of learning to play guitar. In a few exceptional cases, some guitar players are able to persevere until they finally learn to change chords well but many others actually give up playing guitar, falsely believing that they were incapable of overcoming this obstacle in their guitar technique.
Fortunately, it is very realistic and possible for anybody to master the skill of changing chords on guitar and have this ability be reliable in their playing. In order to achieve this, you must follow an effective method of practicing the transition from one chord to the next and you must be patient during the initial stages of the process. In this article I want to demonstrate to you one of the most proven and effective ways of practicing changing from one chord to another using only 4 steps. If you apply this system regularly you will eliminate the problem of unreliable chord changes from your guitar playing.
Below I will describe in detail the specific points you need to follow when you practice changing between difficult chords on guitar:
Step 1: Break It Down
The first thing you must do in order to start effectively practicing a difficult part of the music is to break it down into the smallest section possible, focusing all your attention only on the element that is giving you trouble. This way you won't be distracted (and will not waste time) practicing the parts that you can already play well. For example, when practicing a song that you want to learn to play consistently well, get specific about which parts of the music contain the most mistakes and isolate only those sections to practice. Getting clarity on exactly WHAT is causing your playing to break down will help you to feel more reassured that the problem is within your control to overcome.
The first thing you must do in order to start effectively practicing a difficult part of the music is to break it down into the smallest section possible, focusing all your attention only on the element that is giving you trouble. This way you won't be distracted (and will not waste time) practicing the parts that you can already play well. For example, when practicing a song that you want to learn to play consistently well, get specific about which parts of the music contain the most mistakes and isolate only those sections to practice. Getting clarity on exactly WHAT is causing your playing to break down will help you to feel more reassured that the problem is within your control to overcome.
Step 2: Touch And Relax
After you have identified the two chords that you are going to practice, it is time to spend several moments learning EXACTLY where to put the fingers for playing each chord individually. Do not spend any time practicing the actual transition from one chord to the next (that will come next) and make sure that you are completely confident in your ability to fret the shape of each chord on its own. Your challenge is to place the fingers into the shape of the first chord in a coordinated fashion and with all fingers arriving on their notes at the same time. If you have to place the fingers on the strings one at a time, then you do not truly "know" how to play the chord. As soon as your fingers do land on the correct frets, remove them from the strings (by relaxing your hand) and fret the chord again. Repeat this motion for a period of 2-3 minutes, with the goal of being able to do this step many times in a row until you can do it perfectly. Then repeat this step again with the next chord in the chord progression you are practicing. Doing this will make the next step of the practicing process much easier.
After you have identified the two chords that you are going to practice, it is time to spend several moments learning EXACTLY where to put the fingers for playing each chord individually. Do not spend any time practicing the actual transition from one chord to the next (that will come next) and make sure that you are completely confident in your ability to fret the shape of each chord on its own. Your challenge is to place the fingers into the shape of the first chord in a coordinated fashion and with all fingers arriving on their notes at the same time. If you have to place the fingers on the strings one at a time, then you do not truly "know" how to play the chord. As soon as your fingers do land on the correct frets, remove them from the strings (by relaxing your hand) and fret the chord again. Repeat this motion for a period of 2-3 minutes, with the goal of being able to do this step many times in a row until you can do it perfectly. Then repeat this step again with the next chord in the chord progression you are practicing. Doing this will make the next step of the practicing process much easier.
Step 3: Isolate The Transition
After you develop the fluency and the coordination needed to play each of the chords accurately (in isolation), it is time to shift your focus to the actual moment of transition (change) between the chords. To master this element of playing, begin by playing the first chord, then relax your hand (as you did in Step 2 above) and slowly move to the next chord, forming its shape with your fingers in midair. If the chord progression you are working on requires you to shift to a different part of the guitar for the second chord, keep your shoulder relaxed as you move your entire arm to reach its target position for the new chord. While doing this, stay focused on the following:
After you develop the fluency and the coordination needed to play each of the chords accurately (in isolation), it is time to shift your focus to the actual moment of transition (change) between the chords. To master this element of playing, begin by playing the first chord, then relax your hand (as you did in Step 2 above) and slowly move to the next chord, forming its shape with your fingers in midair. If the chord progression you are working on requires you to shift to a different part of the guitar for the second chord, keep your shoulder relaxed as you move your entire arm to reach its target position for the new chord. While doing this, stay focused on the following:
- Do NOT allow your fingers to fly up too far from the guitar neck. The lower the fingers are to the strings, the faster you will arrive to the target chord.
- Look for common notes between the two chords. This means that if there is one or more notes to be fretted with the same finger(s) between the 2 chords, don't let those fingers come up at all from the guitar in order to eliminate the extra motions that your fingers do not have to perform.
- Keep your eyes focused on the fretting hand the entire time you are playing. This will allow you to control the motion from start to finish, ensuring that the fingers land exactly where they need to be for the new chord.
- Take your time to work through the motion and avoid rushing to arrive to the next chord without paying attention to how your hands move in the process. Too many guitar players simply make a rushed attempt to land their fingers onto the next chord without taking the time to really train the nuances described above. This leads to inconsistent playing and frustration when it comes time to perform the music you have been practicing. After you have completed the chord change 1 time, repeat the entire process to return to the first chord in the progression and continue this practice session for an interval of 2-3 minutes.
As mentioned above in Step 2, you must complete the chord change by fretting each of the chords with the fingers moving "together" in a coordinated fashion. If you have to adjust the position of the fingers after transitioning to the second chord, it is a sign that you have more work to do in this area of your guitar playing.
Step 4: Put The Pieces Together
When you can successfully do the 3rd step described above, the final stage is to work on introducing the chord change into the big picture of the music you are practicing. The easiest way to do this without having to play the entire song all the way through is to simply "extend" the isolated 2 chord section you have been practicing in the earlier steps. For example, start by playing the part of the music that begins 1-3 seconds before the problematic chord change and then end it 1-3 seconds after the second chord of the challenging chord progression. Doing this will help you to easily get used to practicing the difficult chord change in the context of the actual piece of music instead of always practicing it in sterile isolation.
When you can successfully do the 3rd step described above, the final stage is to work on introducing the chord change into the big picture of the music you are practicing. The easiest way to do this without having to play the entire song all the way through is to simply "extend" the isolated 2 chord section you have been practicing in the earlier steps. For example, start by playing the part of the music that begins 1-3 seconds before the problematic chord change and then end it 1-3 seconds after the second chord of the challenging chord progression. Doing this will help you to easily get used to practicing the difficult chord change in the context of the actual piece of music instead of always practicing it in sterile isolation.
When you follow the system of the practice steps listed in this article on a regular basis you will find it much easier to play the chord changes that you might have considered unplayable before and have a lot more fun performing music on your instrument.
To see a video demonstration of how to practice the steps described in this article, watch this free tutorial about learning guitar chord changes.
About the author:
Mike Philippov is a music instructor, recording artist and professional guitar player. He publishes articles about the best ways to learn and practice guitar for musicians around the globe. Visit Mike's guitar practice website: http://PracticeGuitarNow.com to learn how to make your guitar practicing process more effective.
Mike Philippov is a music instructor, recording artist and professional guitar player. He publishes articles about the best ways to learn and practice guitar for musicians around the globe. Visit Mike's guitar practice website: http://PracticeGuitarNow.com to learn how to make your guitar practicing process more effective.
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