“Do YOU want to take your chord changing from slow and uncertain to
quick and confident? Follow these excersises over the next 6 weeks where I will share my TOP 6 tips to help you play ‘basic’ chord changes like a pro.”
One of the hardest aspects of learning guitar as a beginner is transitioning between chord shapes quickly and smoothly enough to effectively play songs. I've been there, I remember the struggle and although it will require some patience and regular practice my hope is that these 6 tips I will share with you will give you that valuable advice to speeding up the process. The key to all of this is efficiency of movement, thinking ahead to the next chord you want to play and building up your muscle memory.
We will be working on your LEFT hand only in this course. Strumming patterns can be performed as you go but in these 6 steps we will be concentrating on building up the dexterity and accuracy of your fretting hand.
Playing guitar has given me a life of happiness, the ability to travel, pay my bills and most importantly of all, to connect with people along the way. The guitar has special ability to bring people together from all walks of life.
We will be working on your LEFT hand only in this course. Strumming patterns can be performed as you go but in these 6 steps we will be concentrating on building up the dexterity and accuracy of your fretting hand.
Playing guitar has given me a life of happiness, the ability to travel, pay my bills and most importantly of all, to connect with people along the way. The guitar has special ability to bring people together from all walks of life.
WHAT WILL I ACHIEVE IN 6 WEEKS?
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As long as you practice DAILY, you will be able to change between the ‘basic’ chord shapes faster and smoother with noticeable results. I will give you tasks each week to activate your muscle memory
"How long does it take to develop muscle memory?“ At the onset of training, it takes 2 to 4 weeks to develop the neurological adaptations. By 6 weeks you should see noticeable improvement. |
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
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WHAT IS A BASIC CHORD?
I would define the basic chords as being major, minor or dominant7 chords within the first 3 frets of the guitar using open strings and fretted notes. No BARRE chords
*PRINT OUT THIS SHEET FOR REFERENCE*
| basic_chords.pdf |
-- WEEK 1 --
Exercise #1
Goal: to be able to better control the fingers of your left hand and practice/learn all basic chord shapes.
Congratulations. You're about to embark on a new challenge! Before you do anything I would like you to have your CAMERA ready to film your very first exercise for the very first time. Watch this video and then film yourself doing levels 1, 2 and 3.
You will need to practice this as much as you can for 1 week and then film yourself again after 7 days.
Congratulations. You're about to embark on a new challenge! Before you do anything I would like you to have your CAMERA ready to film your very first exercise for the very first time. Watch this video and then film yourself doing levels 1, 2 and 3.
You will need to practice this as much as you can for 1 week and then film yourself again after 7 days.
Exercise #2
Now please record and send a video playing the following chord progressions. From the selection of basic chords, here are some likely changes you will make in songs you will learn as a guitar player. This is to get an idea of where you are starting from so we can see the improvement as we go further. This video will be compared to your progress at the END of this course
Play them as fast and as accurately as you feel comfortable.
Play them as fast and as accurately as you feel comfortable.
- A / D / E / D
- G / Cadd9 / D / Cadd9
- C / D7 / Fmaj7 / C
- E / A / B7 / E
- C / Dm / Em / Fmaj7 / G7 / Am
Exercise #3
Now please record and send a video playing the following chords
Play all ALL BASIC chords in alphabetical order
A / Am / A7 / B7 / C / Cadd9 / D / Dm / D7 / E / Em / Fmaj7 / G / G7
This video will be compared to your progress at the END of this course
Play all ALL BASIC chords in alphabetical order
A / Am / A7 / B7 / C / Cadd9 / D / Dm / D7 / E / Em / Fmaj7 / G / G7
This video will be compared to your progress at the END of this course
ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS
- Which chord changes are you currently having the most problems with?
- What song would you most like to see improvement in with your playing?
-- WEEK 2 --
Exercise #4
Goal: to play all of the chords in the list cleanly and precisely.
Let's work on your left-hand positioning. Most issues with holding and changing chords comes from not keeping your left hand in an optimal position. The goal is to stabilise your hand and let the fingers do most of the work.
Let's work on your left-hand positioning. Most issues with holding and changing chords comes from not keeping your left hand in an optimal position. The goal is to stabilise your hand and let the fingers do most of the work.
Watch this video and then film yourself changing between all chords nice and slowly but making sure to keep your left hand connected to the guitar as described.
Homework: Position your hand in this way: thumbprint on top side of guitar neck/left index finger (side of proximal phalange) connected to the underside of the neck/fingers fully retracted to make chord/minimum wrist bending.
Now please record and send a video playing the following chords
Play all ALL BASIC chords in alphabetical order
A / Am / B7 / C / Cadd9 / D / Dm / D7 / E / Em / Fmaj7 / G / G7
Also practice any chord changes you like from any songs you are currently working on but please try to keep your left hand in this position.
Film your very first attempt and then film yourself again 1 week later.
-- WEEK 3 --
What is a PIVOT POINT?
When you can move from one chord to the next by keeping one (or more) fingers in the same place while you move the others. It can also include sliding that finger up or down a fret. Let me show you an example.
Exercise #5
Goal: to be able to switch between chords that share a common fret, string or finger position
For the chords we are working with in this course there are 3 basic levels of difficulty when it comes to chord changing. Today we will concentrate on EASY/MEDIUM - (pp = pivot point)
EASY
These chord changes require less movement and usually share a similar shape or a string/finger/fret position. For example.
A - A7 (pp)
C - Fmaj7 (pp)
Am - D7 (pp)
Em - A
Am - E
MEDIUM
These chord changes require a little more movement of most or all fingers OR have a PIVOT POINT (pp) or SLIDING PIVOT POINT (ssp). For example
A - Am
B7 - A
Cadd9 - A (spp)
Dm - G (pp)
A - E
Fmaj7 - A (pp)
A - G (spp)
HARD
These chord changes require all fingers to move to completely different frets and strings. For example
C - A
A - G7
Try these chord progressions and when playing other groupings of chords keep in mind which fingers you can keep on a string or slide up or down to use as your PIVOT point
Film your very first attempt and then film yourself again 1 week later
Play the following chords in order also remembering tip #2
EASY
These chord changes require less movement and usually share a similar shape or a string/finger/fret position. For example.
A - A7 (pp)
C - Fmaj7 (pp)
Am - D7 (pp)
Em - A
Am - E
MEDIUM
These chord changes require a little more movement of most or all fingers OR have a PIVOT POINT (pp) or SLIDING PIVOT POINT (ssp). For example
A - Am
B7 - A
Cadd9 - A (spp)
Dm - G (pp)
A - E
Fmaj7 - A (pp)
A - G (spp)
HARD
These chord changes require all fingers to move to completely different frets and strings. For example
C - A
A - G7
Try these chord progressions and when playing other groupings of chords keep in mind which fingers you can keep on a string or slide up or down to use as your PIVOT point
- A / D / E / D
- G / Cadd9 / D / Cadd9
- C / D7 / Fmaj7 / C
- E / A / B7 / E
- C / Dm / Em / Fmaj7 / G7 / Am
- Em / B7 / Am / D7
Film your very first attempt and then film yourself again 1 week later
Play the following chords in order also remembering tip #2
-- WEEK 4 --
Do the bounce
This useful little tip will encourage all your fingers to move at the same time. No more '1 finger at a time' slowing you down! With patience and practice this is a big step in your journey to perfect chord changing.
Your muscle memory is coming into play here so Phoebe from friends has an important lesson for you...
Your muscle memory is coming into play here so Phoebe from friends has an important lesson for you...
All joking aside she does have a point when it comes to remembering the shape of the chords away from the guitar. As we move on this will be helpful.
Exercise #6
Goal: to be able to land all fingertips onto each chord simultaneously
Homework: Bounce each chord at least 20 times before moving onto another ensuring ALL fingertips hit the strings at the same time. Go slowly at first and build up your muscle memory. Especially for the chords you have the most trouble with.
Now please record and send a video playing the following chords
Play all ALL BASIC chords in alphabetical order making sure all fingertips meet the strings at the same time.
A / Am / A7 / B7 / C / Cadd9 / D / Dm / D7 / E / Em / Fmaj7 / G / G7
Now please record and send a video playing the following chords
Play all ALL BASIC chords in alphabetical order making sure all fingertips meet the strings at the same time.
A / Am / A7 / B7 / C / Cadd9 / D / Dm / D7 / E / Em / Fmaj7 / G / G7
--WEEK 5--
Play it and say it
Before you play a chord, say the name of the chord out loud... then get to the chord as quickly as you can. I used this method to greatly improve my reaction times and it helped me eventually remember all the chords I knew off by heart.
Exercise #7
Goal: To combine your muscle memory to your reaction time. Say a chord at random, then play it simultaneously (or as quickly as possible)
The brain processes this information, then sends a signal through motor neurons down the arm to tell the muscles in the hand to close and play the chord. The amount of time this all takes is what makes up our reaction time. ... This is often referred to as muscle memory.
If you like you can also use this random picker wheel and test your reaction times this way.
Choose 1 chord at a time OR pick 4 or more chords together and try to play them in a sequence
If you like you can also use this random picker wheel and test your reaction times this way.
Choose 1 chord at a time OR pick 4 or more chords together and try to play them in a sequence
--WEEK 6--
Close your eyes!
This last step requires you to do all of the above and practice changing chords with ninja like skills. If you can change chords without the need to look at all you will free yourself up to concentrating on other things like singing, fingerpicking or sword swallowing while you play.
I hope these tips have been useful for you and I look forward to seeing your last video.
Play through all the basic chords:
A / Am / A7 / B7 / C / Cadd9 / D / Dm / D7 / E / Em / Fmaj7 / G / G7
The following progressions:
And along to any song you are currently practising. We will then compare it to your very first video so you can see the results.
As you continue further your chord changing will naturally improve and I hope these tips have given you that extra bit of help
Ryan
I hope these tips have been useful for you and I look forward to seeing your last video.
Play through all the basic chords:
A / Am / A7 / B7 / C / Cadd9 / D / Dm / D7 / E / Em / Fmaj7 / G / G7
The following progressions:
- A / D / E / D
- G / Cadd9 / D / Cadd9
- C / D7 / Fmaj7 / C
- E / A / B7 / E
- C / Dm / Em / Fmaj7 / G7 / Am
- Em / B7 / Am / D7
And along to any song you are currently practising. We will then compare it to your very first video so you can see the results.
As you continue further your chord changing will naturally improve and I hope these tips have given you that extra bit of help
Ryan
