Chords and Hand Coordination

I wrote a "lesson" on chord changing ( https://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/improving-your-chord-changes/ ), which may help.

As you so rightly say, though, it's practice.

I'm really new at this too (only had my 1st guitar for 5 days so far), and I know EXACTLY what you mean. I started to think my left hand had a mind of it's own, since it never wanted to do what I told it to do. :?

I've spent my last few practice times just choosing two chords and just switching my left hand back and forth over and over, not even strumming. Then choose two different chords and do the same thing. It seems to be helping.

Also, I'm not sure how you're scheduling your practice, but everywhere I've read says that a little bit each day (even if only 10 or 15 minutes) is better at the beginning than 1 or 2 hrs in one session for the week.

I know this may seem a bit like the blind leading the blind, but hey, we're all in this together, right? :D

Yes, practice. Try to practice just a small number of chords. Try to find songs with those chords. Almost all songs can be played with three chords (perhaps they do not sound as the original). Play those songs and add a new chord each time or play the three chord songs in several keys.

Practice as slow as you can, the goal is to practice the changes, no the wrong movements or mistakes.

Quick, reach down with your left hand and rub your stomach while reaching up and pat your head with your right hand. Now quickly switch hands and do the opposite.

It's difficult, right? You say you can just finger the chords fine by themselves, but then the left hand fumbles if you try to strum with your right. Same thing as above. I'm sure you could easily rub your stomach with one hand. But quickly try to pat your head with the other, you will fumble with the stomach rubbing, at least until you practice a little bit.

Don't worry and don't give up. I gave up. Got my acoustic a few years ago. I was in the exact position you are in. I knew the chords fine, but when I introduced strumming and tried to change chords, my left hand got all stupid. I broke a string and gave up for a few years. Then I decided to dust off the ole acoustic and have another go. With practice every night using a few chord tabs of songs, I got it pretty quick.

Find some 2 chord songs and go slowly. Start just strumming 4 beats of the chord with down strums, then switch and strum the 2nd chord 4 beats. Heck, slow it down further and only strum once, but count out the 4 beats. Count them out slowly. Once you do a few songs like that, get some 3 chord songs, then some 4 chord songs.

The biggest hurtle in my opinion is that you get a guitar because you want to learn how to play. But, you want to play something now, not just strum chords. That's what happened to me, I didn't want to sit and strum a chord with down strums, then switch. I wanted to make it sound like a song and was quickly frustrated.

Everyone was where you are at one point. It is frustrating and you get the feeling that you'll never get it. You will get it. When you do get it, you will see other new folk here at the site asking the same question and will think just the same as I am right now, "I was there not that long ago and it will come to you..." I remember having the same question and reading the same response and thinking "I'll never be able to do this..." Well, I'm doing it. Then when I thought it was time to try my hand at barre chords and it was the same thing. All I could get out of a barre chord was a bunch of muted noise. But it came to me and it seemed agonizingly slow to come. But it did.

It's all about muscle memory. Your fingers will learn to remember. They will learn to do the chord fingerings so that you won't even think about it and you can do something different for the strumming. Then the right hand will get that muscle memory and you won't be thinking about the strumming anymore either. That's when you really start playing the music and it is all worth the frustration in the very beginning.

I don't have a whole lot of help for ya, but I'm trying to be encouraging for ya. The encouragement really helps. Remember, everyone had the same thoughts of how difficult it is and all have either overcome it with persistence and practice or have given up. Don't give up like I did because after 5 years, I'd like to think I'd be pretty good with playing. But I lost 4 of those years with the guitar sitting in the case down in the basement until I picked it back up again last year. In this past year, I overcame the difficulties of switching chords while strumming (I already knew the chord fingerings like you do), and also learned GnR Patience, Don't Cry, Knockin on Heaven's Door, a few Neil Young songs as well as I play about a 10 minute acoustic version of Shine on You Crazy Diamond which is probably about 4 minutes of intro soloing and 6 minutes of barre chord chorus. I'm now 3/4 of the way through my teenage dream of playing Comfortably Numb including the chords, first solo, and I'm halfway through the 2nd solo tonight.

Sorry, that was long. But hey, I just want to send you some encouragement. Keep at it and don't put that guitar down. In a month you will think differently and a month after that you will think differently again, and a month after that, and after that..... Won't be long before you will be saying to new people, "I was there too not long ago and thought it was the most difficult thing to do..."

mrodgers,

That was very well stated and encouraging to us newbies, to say the least.

Thanks.

Brian

Although it is meant for singing alongwith playing guitar, yet, Nick's article can be a good motivator.

And seriously Nick, I really think drummers are magicians who can play the whole drum set and cymbals with their hands and feet and still sound awesome. (Maybe, I will know the reality once I start learning drums...)

I've spent my last few practice times just choosing two chords and just switching my left hand back and forth over and over, not even strumming. Then choose two different chords and do the same thing. It seems to be helping.

Also, I'm not sure how you're scheduling your practice, but everywhere I've read says that a little bit each day (even if only 10 or 15 minutes) is better at the beginning than 1 or 2 hrs in one session for the week.

Listen to that guy, he's got it figured.

I would suggest to strum (or arpegiate - pick each of the strings of the chord individually) occasionally, just to make sure your hand has the strings fretted the way you think it does. If there are any muted notes, tinker your fingering, then continue with your exercise.

And don't give up. It'll take a week or 3 on each pair of chords before your hands start to get the message.
Then start strumming s-l-o-w-l-y and try to change chords without breaking your strumming rhythm. Expect this to take several more weeks to get working at any kind of speed you'll be happy with.

The most important thing is to not get discouraged by the pace of learning.

or in other words...
Patience Young Grasshopper

The biggest hurtle in my opinion is that you get a guitar because you want to learn how to play. But, you want to play something now, not just strum chords. That's what happened to me, I didn't want to sit and strum a chord with down strums, then switch. I wanted to make it sound like a song and was quickly frustrated.

Bullseye.

I sure know this is how I feel whenever I start strumming. :)

I always try to keep in mind that 'this isn't going to be fast or easy, and the guys playing those awesome tunes on my iPod have been playing for their whole lives'. I've only been playing for a week. It's keeps things in perspective.

It's a long journey. Make the journey enjoyable and you'll stick with it.

Here's the link to David Hodges "Easy Song For Beginners" section. https://www.guitarnoise.com/easy/ Go back to his first lesson. 2 chords, and then do some embellishments if you feel up to it. You could be playing actual music within 1/2 an hour. 40 something more songs too. Really easy ones or at least arranged by him to be easy.

I didn't do this so much myself, but I wish I had split "[ractice" time up between easy songs and technical learnings. Oh well.

Ah I remember those days well, the best advice I got was to just keep pushing through it and one day it'll get easier. Really, just keep strumming and changing chords even when you screw up and eventually you will get it. Just takes a little practice!

You've discovered the same thing I did when I started playing guitar. I had to save money for about a month before I could buy my first guitar, and being used to learning things like computer languages with my brain, I studied for the entire month. I learned (in diagram form) all of the open chords, watched hundreds of how-to-play videos, and learned a bunch of strumming patterns that I could play on an imaginary guitar. Memorized where some of the key notes were on the fretboard.

Picked up a guitar a month later and I couldn't play ANYTHING. I had to start from square one. It turns out that your brain (or at least the intellectual part) has very little to do with the process. It's all muscle memory, and the only way to teach your fingers the right way to do it is to practice. The brain's only good for reading those diagrams and telling the fingers what to do the first time. After that it's all in the fingers.

It took probably 6 months before I felt completely comfortable making simple chord changes. Now it's been two years and I can play all of the barre chords, lots of songs, and several complicated classical pieces. But give me a chord I'm not used to playing and my fingers go all the way back to square one again.

Don't give up - it'll become easy if you practice every day.

But give me a chord I'm not used to playing and my fingers go all the way back to square one again.

I'm the same way. Throw in an infrequently used open chord and I'm really slow on that transition until I've practiced it a bunch. Especially if a great deal of distance between fingers is required.

Two Points:

1) Yes, the most important thing right now is simply that you CONTINUE TO PRACTICE CONSCIOUSLY. The more, the better - as long as you are not pushing past fatigue. Save that for the Marines.

2) There is a mental portion of this skill set. I have consistently found that the students I have who are running into walls with these kinds of issues are also incapable of visualizing it in their imagination. They can't imagine being able to do it and, sure enough, they can't do it.

Mental rehearsal is a powerful way to move yourself along the learning curve. Virtually all top-level athletes mentally rehearse their events. I find that it is equally valuable for guitarists.

Just make sure you still actually get down and PLAY the things 30 - 60 minutes every day :wink:

Virtually all top-level athletes mentally rehearse their events.
And some non-top-level athletes, too. :wink:

The visualization is very important in sports and also in many other disciplines.