Hello everyone! I am having issues transitioning from a em chord going to a bm or f# sharp bar chord. I am taking lessons & my instructor has suggested practicing doing at least 50 of each transitions as a warm up. I do alright when practicing, but when it comes to actually trying to play, the strum has a somewhat of a pause when I am transitioning between the chords I mentioned above. By the way the song that I am learning is Hotel California. Any input you guy's have will be greatly appreciated...anything else that I can do different.....thanks. Abel. :)
One way to make a smoother transition between these two particular chords is to finger the Em chord with your ring and pinky fingers. That way when you shift to the Bm/F# these two fingers are essentially in the same relative position that you need them to be in for that chord.
Regardless of what fingering you use, the main obstacle to avoid when changing chords is repositioning all your fingers one at a time when changing. Doing a lot of repetitions as a warm up is fine, but you should also try slowing down the tempo to the point where you can make the transition in proper timing. That will likely mean, at least for the time being, that the tempo will painfully slow. That's okay. Once you start getting the change made smoothly and in time, then start picking up the tempo gradually.
Hope this helps.
Peace
50 transitions? Really? That sounds like a waste of time if you're not transitioning correctly in the first place.
Take a slow tempo to begin with. Arpeggiate your chords so that you are only moving 1 finger at a time, and move them in rhythm. Then move 2 fingers at a time until you're moving all of your fingers at once.
Gradually speed up your tempo, even faster than the song to the point that your fingers are moving almost simultaneously. Then slow back down and play the full chords.
Best of luck!
I appreciate your advise, & will give it a shot. Thanks again.
One way to make a smoother transition between these two particular chords is to finger the Em chord with your ring and pinky fingers. That way when you shift to the Bm/F# these two fingers are essentially in the same relative position that you need them to be in for that chord.
Paraphrasing:
The first chord I taught all my boys was an E. I insisted they use their last three fingers just for this reason. Thanks, Dave...
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
