Chord Problem - Green Day Good Riddance

The G to D thing took me a while to really get. Aside from tips others might suggest, I'd saykeep working at it.

Amber,

Pick up a new song if you like but keep working on this one as well.
D to G is such a common change that you will have to learn it eventually!
Also, speaking from experience, the sooner you learn to "stick with it even though it seems difficult", the easier learning will get.

In terms of practicing, I would do exactly what you have been doing; practice just D to G, very slowly for about 10 mins every day. Go as slow as it takes it make the changes perfectly and then gradually go faster.

Vic

The site ate my last reply :( 2nd time lucky...

How are playing your G? 320003? If you do, then try 320033 instead, and x32033 for the Cadd9, and then xx0232 for the D. This lets you leave you ring finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string (bolded above) for that whole section of the song, which might help with the changes. (Also, later on, it'll help with getting into the habit of not looking at the neck when you make your changes.)

Other than that, just keep practicing the change. One strum of each, as fast as you can manage perfectly. D, G, D, G, D, G, for as long as you can stand. I remember doing that myself - that and barre F to open G :roll:

Definately use the 320033 for G on this one it makes the change that much easier.

Hello all,

I am actually learning the same song and find that the faster you play the first part the better it sounds. I know this sounds strange but the song takes shape as you play it faster. This is how I play it

G 2X
cadd9 1X
dsus7 1X(gosh I hope this is right)

I repeat two the above twice. The followinng strum pattern is used and works well. My next step is to accomplish the finger picking that you here in original song.

DDUUDU
123+4+

The site ate my last reply :( 2nd time lucky...

How are playing your G? 320003? If you do, then try 320033 instead, and x32033 for the Cadd9, and then xx0232 for the D. This lets you leave you ring finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string (bolded above) for that whole section of the song, which might help with the changes. (Also, later on, it'll help with getting into the habit of not looking at the neck when you make your changes.)

Other than that, just keep practicing the change. One strum of each, as fast as you can manage perfectly. D, G, D, G, D, G, for as long as you can stand. I remember doing that myself - that and barre F to open G :roll:

totally agree.... i could never transition in the beginning from D to G until i started playing it 320033 - one less finger to move in the beginning is definitely easier!!! then later on you can choose to play it like that or 320003 as the song demands or according to what you feel sounds best.... it helps with As too... as you just slide the ring finger along then to play a D or an A...

i now also sometimes use my little finger for the bottom E (when playing a G) and sometimes my ring finger instead or as well - depending on what i'm transitioning from or to...

stick with it - it will come!! then you'll be able to move onto the joys of transitioning from G to C and back again... and then barre chords... eek!!!

have fun.... and have faith....

I remember the problems I had changing from one open chord to another. I used to watch someone who would effortlessly move between chords (without even looking at the guitar) and wonder how they could do it. Now, I can do the same. How did it happen? Hours and hours of practice. I used to sit in my living room with a guitar on my lap and endlessly strum away at it, while I watched tv. I really didn't care what I was playing; I just would move between chords. I also varied my strumming pattern, so it would be a little less boring! Eventually, changing chords became part of my subconcious - now I don't even think about it - it just happens!

Keep practicing - it will get there, with patience.

Hey - thank you all for your tips and encouragement. I did accidently discover the 320033 for the G about a week ago so actually I guess I have only been trying this way for a week. I just haven't seen the progress on this song as I have on the other one I am working on and I thought that this one was going to be easier. I just have to keep telling myself that it will come as I too am in awe of watching people make those smooth chord changes.

I will have my guitar on my lap tonight when I watch Rock Star and see if that helps to get some extra practice on this change with your suggestions!!!

Thanks again.
Amber

Here's one thing that helped me a lot: On the strum right before the chord change, take off all of your fingers except the ring finger that is staying anchored on the 3rd fret the whole time. You can use this one 'unfretted' strum to get your other three fingers in position so that they can hit the chord change quickly on the next strum. It might seem like it would sound bad, but it's only one strum, and it really doesn't. I think a lot of guitarists use this technique. Here's what it would kind of look like:

D "Open Strum" G
e|--2-------0-------3--
B|--3-------3-------3--
G|--2-------0-------0--
D|--0-------0-------0--
A|------------------2--
E|------------------3--


Use can use this trick on just about any strumming except for barre chords. You just leave the finger that aren't going to change for the next chords (sometimes that could all but one and other times it might be none) locked down on their fret and remove the others for the last strum before the actual chord change to give yourself a little extra time to get them into place. I hope that makes sense. If not, let me know and I (or someone else!) can try to make it clearer.

Jason, that made perfect sense and I am going to try that tonight.

Thank you!!!

Amber

The thing about good riddance is the first string is (unless I am just completely mistaken) never played throughout the entire song. In this song, I play the D as 00233, if you try this you will find you only have to move two fingers the entire time for that part of the song, leaving the ring and pinky in place. And it sounds good to me.

With that being said, do take the time to learn the correct chord changes, you will need them. However, there is nothing wrong with building confidence by making something simpler.

Hey amber, when you're playing good riddance, it's best to play 320033 for G, not only because it is not only easier to change, but if you ever plan to learn the picking part for the first verse, you will need that 3 on the B string. Anyways, good riddance was one of the first songs i learned too. Those chord changes were really hard in the beginning, but play the chords really slowly at first. Start at a speed which you can do it smoothly, then get a little faster, always trying to do it deribately. You will get there, just keep going!