Superb website - the best site on the net! Sorry to bring this up again. I have been learning for a about a year - i can play about 8 Chords now. I am still having problems changing smoothly between them. For example i am learning to play Hotel Yorba by the White Stripes. 4 Chord song - G,C,D, F Barre Chord. I find it sounds kind stilted and i aways pause between G,C Chord i cannot get any fluency there. I picked this song as it had a Barre chord in it but am struggling like hell with that too.
I can play chords fine in their own right be feel kinda pressured and rushed when playing a song, hence the song loses its fluidity. I also believe i need to have the guitar adjusted - string gauge, action as after using my brothers guitar it became obvious mine is too high. If i go to a shop will they do this while i wait or is it a long job. Also can u recommned a good beginner string gauge/brand/type.
Many many thanks and keep up the good work.
It sounds to me like you are rushing things. Don't go right off trying to keep up with the song. Practice (word you will hear a lot) as slow as you have to go until you are comfortable with the change then slowly bring yourself up to speed. Don't be afraid to hit a few open strings while you are changing since it will sound OK and give you some time to change. Just try to keep your strumming hand moving for fluidity.
I would also drop the barre chord until you are comfortable with the open chord changes.
The best way to get comfortable with changes is to start off with 2 chords and go back and forth. Then either drop one of the chords and add another or just add a third chord. Pick a few simple progressions like D A G, G D Am, or G Em C D to get you started and change the order you play each chord to get a feel for the changes in all directions.
As far as taking the guitar to have it set up I can only say that it is a good idea if you think it is off. However, more than likely they will not do it while you wait but if you catch them on an off day like early in the morning on a weekday they may.
If you can play the chords themselves clearly, then you are real, real close!
A metronome will help here. I used G, Em, C and D. Set it super-slow and give each chord a single strum on que from the metronome until you are sick of it. Then kick up the metronome a notch and so on. Before you know it you will be switching along no problem! Now I bounce off my D to some others and back to D and continue my sequence, looking to continually add another chord to the list that I can play smoothly and quickly.
The songs make you 'race' trying to keep up (some sound slow until you try to do it!) and makes things worse. The metronome is the answer here I believe. A week tops and you will see an improvement that will make you smile. :D
If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.
It doesn't take a long time to adjust the action on a guitar. Whether or not a shop can do it while you wait depends on how busy they are. You don't say what type of guitar you have, so string guage advise is difficult. As for your chord changing problem, it will get better with practice. There are lots of little drills you could use to help, several have been mentioned. I use one where I change from G to C to mini barr F and back again. I can change between these chords with no effort now, but I still do it every time I practice. Practice, practice, practice will solve your problem.
Tim Madsen
Nobody cares how much you know,
until they know how much you care.
"What you keep to yourself you lose, what you give away you keep forever." -Axel Munthe
You have been such a great help many thanks to everyone who replied. Just a small bit of advice can spur you on.
Thankyou.
Dave
I found the G - C change to be a real female dog when I started, until I began to finger the G chord with my middle (A string), ring (E string) and pinky (high E string). This leaves your index finger free to plunk down on the B string when you change to C while your other two fingers simply move down a string each. Much easier than the index, middle, ring fingering for G when going to C.
"You want WHAT on the *&%#ing ceiling?" - Michelangelo, 1566
I found the G - C change to be a real female dog when I started, until I began to finger the G chord with my middle (A string), ring (E string) and pinky (high E string).
Just to add to what Narn said about fingering the G, don't get frustrated when you make the change if you've been doing the index/middle/ring fingering. Though middle/ring/pinky will seem odd at first, it will soon become second-nature. I speak from experience on this one.
Blame it on the lies that killed us, blame it on the truth that ran us down.
Oh yeah Dave, never give up!
Lowering the action should help some.
As others wrote, get a cheap metronome and start at a slow speed you can keep up with. Then turn it up 2-4 BPM and work your way up.
This may sound goofy, but I have always thought that you have to THINK AHEAD. In your mind you have to stay ahead of your playing a little bit. You may be concentrating on the G chord so much that when you come to the C you are caught a little off guard, even if you've practiced this song many times.
So as you are playing this song, a second or so before the change get your mind on the next chord. I think you will find you switch to the next chord more fluently.
You might even change ahead of time by accident! :D
Also, try to pay attention to stress. It is very important to relax when you play guitar. Tension will slow you down.
Hope this didn't sound too strange.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
I have been using the (first A) (second E) and (third high e) for the G chord and just been practicing the other way mentioned here. It is a shorter trip to the C chord but I don't play the G chord as clear my third and pinky finger seem unstable. Right now I like the idea of the less complicated change ( wish I started that way) which is best from a more experienced players point of view?
It is worthwhile have both forms in your arsenal. I switch back and forth depending on where I am going or coming from and most of the time don't even think about it except when I am learning a progression. I do however, mostly use finger 2,3, and 4 but I originally learned 1,2, and 3.
This actually holds true for a few chords. for example the A. Sometimes I use the traditional way and sometime I barre the 3 strings.
Makes sense....learn both ways, thanks :)
I find that I've been fingering chords differently depending on what I'm playing.
Dave,
I found what has mentioned to be very true. Sometimes I find myself concentrating on the chord I'm playing rather than thinking ahead to what chord is next and then you slow in hitting the next chord.
Try and anticipate the changes and like was mentioned before it will be OK if your fingers are off the strings for a moment before you hit the new chord, it won't even be noticeable.
But in the end all it comes down to is practice, practice, practice.
Chris
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I definitely agree with using alternate fingering to form of G when switiching to C but in reality I use both forms. Keep at it and work the pinky as much as possible. It will get stable and you will get it to listen to you eventually. (The bugger really has a mind of its own sometimes). Also once you hit a chord "look" where you need to go next, just don't think about it only. It will get better with practice.
