G & C Chords

LOL, just wait 'til you get to F and B ... :D

Keep at it and you'll get there. We all struggle at times.

I think we all did. :wink:

I made my own progression from D to C then G. I played it over and over and over and over (you get the point).

Just come up with something (or find a song) with them and do the same. Take it slow....... one chord one beat then to the next beat with another chord and so on. Try all down strums for now.... D-2-3-4-C-2-3-4-G-2-3-4....... Don't worry to much on the in-between right now, just make sure you hint the next chord so you keep your timing. Then what I did was... D-C-G-4-G-2-3-4-D-C-G-4......

Just a thought.......(sorry for any confusion)

Mike

For me it was the D chord that gave me (and still does at times) difficulty. Don't worry about strumming patterns. Just use slow down strums and deliberately change from chord to chord. In my earlier practices I did this for 30 minutes...boring I know but it WILL pay off!

LOL, just wait 'til you get to F and B ... :D

Keep at it and you'll get there. We all struggle at times.

yep i'm there now!

G to C was a tough one but i'm getting it pretty good. Definately took a while.
But like Mikespe said, with lots of repetitive practicing and you'll get through it.

Yeah I quit dozens of times...but i finally got it. And I recently got the F and B too!

Aye - I've been there. Stick with it, it will pass, don't know when, it just sort of happens.

As everyone has said, every time you pass one challenge you find another and from what I have read this continues for your whole life, if you want it too. I think thats why people are impressed by anyone who can play anything on the guitar, its effort.

If this is getting on your nerves, try something else and come back to it later. Maybe try an Em chord, which is only two fingers and add a third finger to make an E major chord. Get this change nice and smooth and still work on your C to G from time to time and soon you'll have 4 chords down. G is a bugger initially (actually they all are) so you could try C to G7.

Any chord changes you get will help your fingers 'get it' and move you forwards, just stick with it.

As an aside, learning chord changes is one thing, learning strumming is another, so try and seperate them. I.e. if you are working on strumming, just hold an Em chord and strum - forget changes. If you are working on changes, let your strumming do what it likes and think only about the changes.

Enjoy and good luck with it all.

Rich.

P.S. I was only meant to be getting directions to Heathrow, not posting on here - I'd better get moving!

Thanks for the advice gang!

Well I just played a clean G. Finally... It took me 3 days... ARGH.

I discovered if I try not to press directly straight ahead with my finger, but tilt my finger ever so slightly it allows more room for my finger and I can finger the strings cleanly, if that makes sense.

I'm such a literal person that when I finger the strings I think that my fingers always have to be perfectly straight on. I guess that's not always the case.

I watched a few Zakk Wylde and Steve Vai videos tonight just to kind of confirm my theory and I dont think I saw either one of those guys ever come directly sraight down with their fingers.

Is what I'm trying to explain make sense?

Anyway, thanks again! I know have A, Am, E, Em and a weak but getting there G chord. :)

Dm gave me the most crap when learning open chords. Actually, I still suck at it.

How long have you been playing/learning?

I've been learning since January, and at various times I've been annoyed with A, C, and the dreaded F. And I still can't switch smoothly between all the chords I do know. Yet. Some are better than others.

I haven't even attempted B, but it looks like it'll be another of those that take a few weeks to get to sound cleanly.

Like everyone else has already said, keep at it, take small breaks to try something else for a while.

It'll come eventually. Learning isn't a race.

with a G chord you can kinda lay your finger a bit flatter on the low E string since there are no strings above it to touch, but not if you want to hammer on it or pull off. I haven't done pull off's or hammer on's on that string tho

best advice i've used is to practice with a click at a slow bpm, say 60 and just switch between the two chords. Once you've nailed that speed increase the bpm and so on.

Worked for me on switching from barres to open and back again.

also I play the G 320033 and I cheat on that by nailing the E and A strings first then a split second later the B and E strings, its easrier than trying the place all four fingers at once.

It's wierd but G and D are the chords I find easiest, I learned those 2 about 20 years ago and they seem to have stuck for some reason, but it makes it much harder to do the alternate fingering (with r,m and pinky) so I can change from G to C easier!

I am still learning , but one thing I found is when learning a new chord

( and I am still learning heaps of them ) is to place a cappo on the 3rd fret this makes the stretch of the fingers , a little easier then when I can play the chord comfortably I take the cappo off , and try to play it where it should be played .

Like already mentioned G , C are tough first up but give it time and you will be saying this about B and F ( I still can't play them )

I have a motto that is helping me over come these tough times ,

" If it was easy then everybody in this world would be doing it ."

But only guitarist are mad enough to try ...... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hilch :?:

Honky Tonk Woman (Rolling Stones) and Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell) are both good songs for practicing G and C (at least in the arrangements I know). Both can be found here: http://www.heartwoodguitar.com/chords.htm .