I have been having the hardest time switching between chords.. Up until now I have been using the Guitar for Dummies Video. It has a simple song that switches from D major to A major and back.. I can form the chords fairly well individually but switching between them has been a nightmare. I have been working on this for over a month.. at least every other day (due to my job can't always practice every day). I am not sure if it is a form issue or what is there anything that I can read here or other places that may help?
I wanna Rock N Roll all night... Ahh who am I kidding I'll be in bed at 9 pm....
Switching between chords is really a matter of knowing where you are and visualizing where you are going. Sometimes you have to finger a chord different than other times to ease changes. In the case of D to A and A to D try these fingerings:
Finger the D with index (1) on the 3rd string at the 2nd fret, your middle (2) on the 1st (bottom) string 2nd fret and your ring (3) on the 2nd string 3rd fret.
Now to switch to the A leave your index where it is (may need to slide it a little to make room) and pickup your middle and put it on the 3rd string 2nd fret and your ring on 2nd string at the 2nd fret. Just reverse it to go back to the D.
It may take a lot of practice but stick with it and it will come.
Hiya,
Changing chords is something that gets easier the more you work at it. In the meantime, what I suggest is to try it really slowly - the important thing is to get the changes in on time. Once you can play a good rhythm really slow, then start building up the speed in small steps. You'll get there.
Best,
A :-)
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
Thanks for the input I will definitely try those..
I wanna Rock N Roll all night... Ahh who am I kidding I'll be in bed at 9 pm....
Yes....do it SLOW. Accuracy is what is important. If you do it wrong and buzz strings, trying to do it faster just makes it even worse and our muscles have memory (which is what we are practicing, teaching our muscles to repeat history), so if we rush slopping switching, we just get real good at playing bad.
Accuracy first, speed will come on it's own after we are doing it right. :D
If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.
An explanation similar to the one that helped me:
Changing chords, like any other physical motion, requires the use of both larger and smaller muscles/tendons. The wrist being the larger, the fingers themselves being the smaller. Get the motion for the larger ones down first and the motion of the smaller ones will be easier.
So, in this case, play the D chord as Nils suggested, taking note of the position of your wrist, hand, fingers, thumb. Then, play the A chord as Nils suggested, again noting the same positions. When you go to change between the chords, visualize the motion needed to get your wrist in the correct position, then your hand, then your fingers and thumb. Do this repeatedly very slowly until your hand gets it right. Then the changes will be much smoother and you'll be able to build speed as Alan suggested.
-- John
"Hip woman walking on a moving floor, tripping on the escalator.
There's a man in the line and she's blowin' his mind, thinking that he's already made her."
'Coming into Los Angeles' - Arlo Guthrie
Try hitting open strings between chord changes it gives you time to change hand positions and keeps the rythm going. Sorry if you are already doing this.......... but I found this to be one of the best pieces of advise when I started
I believe Nick wrote (in one of his easy songs for beginners post) an open chord upstroke between each chord chances will help hide the chord change.
