Guitar chord advice?!
Question: Guitar chord advice!?
I've only been playing guitar for 7 months, but I can't get the hang of chords!. The only chords I know are C, G, G7, D, D7, Am, E, and F!. I can kinda play them, but with clunks!. I can barely switch from chord to chord and I can't keep up with a song for ****!. Any advice!?Www@Enter-QA@Com
Answers:
I've been teaching for decades so here is the secret to changing chords quickly;
There are only 2 shapes on the guitar all chords are made by combining these 2 shapes!. These shapes are 2 notes side by side like Em and 2 notes diagonal to each other like Cmaj7!. (Em is played by taking the 1st finger out of the E chord, Cmaj7 is played by lifting the 1st finger out of a C chord!. Let the top 3 strings ring open for each chord)
Note: these chords are played with the middle 2 fingers only!. One shape is 2 notes side by side, the other is 2 notes diagonaly!. The middle and ring fingers are your strongest fingers and should always be moved simultaneously and placed simultaneously!. Once you place the 2 middle fingers then the others will follow easily!. Concentrate on placing your middle and ring fingers at the same time first as one shape or the other!.
Strumming can be a valueable tool in improving your chord changes!. Pick 2 chords like E and A and strum each one 8 times with a down-up strum pattern!. The down strum will be a # and the up strum will be a & (1&2&3&4&5&6&7&8&)
now change chords but DON'T STOP STRUMMING!!! At first this will be hard because you have gotten in the habit of stopping your strumming when changing chords!. This is a BAD HABIT that you have developed! After all, your strumming hand isn't messing up so don't punish it! Your left hand is the one that is not moving fast enough and you are reinforcing this whenever you stop strumming! So, DON'T STOP STRUMMING!!!!!!!! Of course it is going to sound like crap until your left hand finally gets the chord right but thats OK! This is normal and is to be expected!. The trick is to keep strumming without stopping and once you get the chord right then count 8 strums and move again WITHOUT STOPPING THE STRUM!! Count how many strums it takes untill the left hand gets the chord correct!. It may take dozens! but each time you change, the number of strums will be less, and less, until you can change them in one strum!
Do this simple exercise with all your chords and eventually you will have no trouble changing from one chord to another!. Since you have already developed the bad habit of stopping you will have to force yourself not to stop!. This will be the hardest part, but once you get the hang of what I am telling you than you will progress very quickly!
here are some easy changes;
Aminor to C
C to G7
E to Aminor
Eminor to A
C to F
practice all of these 2 chord changes as described above about 5 minutes each taking a 5 min break in between
here are some more chords for you
play E, lift up ring finger = E7
play Aminor, lift up ring finger = Amin7
play A with open 3rd string= A7 (use middle on 4th string and ring on 2nd string, both at 2nd fret)
play C with pinky on 4th string at 3rd fret= C7
play F with 1st string open= F maj7
keep me updated with your progress or any questions
gtarczar@yahoo!.comWww@Enter-QA@Com
There are only 2 shapes on the guitar all chords are made by combining these 2 shapes!. These shapes are 2 notes side by side like Em and 2 notes diagonal to each other like Cmaj7!. (Em is played by taking the 1st finger out of the E chord, Cmaj7 is played by lifting the 1st finger out of a C chord!. Let the top 3 strings ring open for each chord)
Note: these chords are played with the middle 2 fingers only!. One shape is 2 notes side by side, the other is 2 notes diagonaly!. The middle and ring fingers are your strongest fingers and should always be moved simultaneously and placed simultaneously!. Once you place the 2 middle fingers then the others will follow easily!. Concentrate on placing your middle and ring fingers at the same time first as one shape or the other!.
Strumming can be a valueable tool in improving your chord changes!. Pick 2 chords like E and A and strum each one 8 times with a down-up strum pattern!. The down strum will be a # and the up strum will be a & (1&2&3&4&5&6&7&8&)
now change chords but DON'T STOP STRUMMING!!! At first this will be hard because you have gotten in the habit of stopping your strumming when changing chords!. This is a BAD HABIT that you have developed! After all, your strumming hand isn't messing up so don't punish it! Your left hand is the one that is not moving fast enough and you are reinforcing this whenever you stop strumming! So, DON'T STOP STRUMMING!!!!!!!! Of course it is going to sound like crap until your left hand finally gets the chord right but thats OK! This is normal and is to be expected!. The trick is to keep strumming without stopping and once you get the chord right then count 8 strums and move again WITHOUT STOPPING THE STRUM!! Count how many strums it takes untill the left hand gets the chord correct!. It may take dozens! but each time you change, the number of strums will be less, and less, until you can change them in one strum!
Do this simple exercise with all your chords and eventually you will have no trouble changing from one chord to another!. Since you have already developed the bad habit of stopping you will have to force yourself not to stop!. This will be the hardest part, but once you get the hang of what I am telling you than you will progress very quickly!
here are some easy changes;
Aminor to C
C to G7
E to Aminor
Eminor to A
C to F
practice all of these 2 chord changes as described above about 5 minutes each taking a 5 min break in between
here are some more chords for you
play E, lift up ring finger = E7
play Aminor, lift up ring finger = Amin7
play A with open 3rd string= A7 (use middle on 4th string and ring on 2nd string, both at 2nd fret)
play C with pinky on 4th string at 3rd fret= C7
play F with 1st string open= F maj7
keep me updated with your progress or any questions
gtarczar@yahoo!.comWww@Enter-QA@Com
Just practice more!.
The most important thing is to watch your left hand doing the motions!.
No need to strum, just left hand practice to get stronger!.
Practice like this:
1) Hold your fingers in the shape of the chord on the fret board(start easy- like a C)
2) Take your fingers off the strings but keep them close (like an inch away)
3) Put them back on (watch your hand doing this)
- try putting all the fingers down the same time, not one by one
Repeat it like 20 times, or untill you can do it!.
Then alter step #2 by taking your fingers off to 2 inches instead of 1!. Do it 20 more times!.
Then take your fingers off to 3 inches away and do it 20 times!.
Keep doing that till you can take your fingers off the fret board and put your hands by your side!.
Make sure your putting all the fingers down together and not 1 at a time!.
Try doing it for like half an hour a day with maybe 2 or 3 chords at first!. After a while it will be easier for you to do the chords you've practiced as well as other!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
The most important thing is to watch your left hand doing the motions!.
No need to strum, just left hand practice to get stronger!.
Practice like this:
1) Hold your fingers in the shape of the chord on the fret board(start easy- like a C)
2) Take your fingers off the strings but keep them close (like an inch away)
3) Put them back on (watch your hand doing this)
- try putting all the fingers down the same time, not one by one
Repeat it like 20 times, or untill you can do it!.
Then alter step #2 by taking your fingers off to 2 inches instead of 1!. Do it 20 more times!.
Then take your fingers off to 3 inches away and do it 20 times!.
Keep doing that till you can take your fingers off the fret board and put your hands by your side!.
Make sure your putting all the fingers down together and not 1 at a time!.
Try doing it for like half an hour a day with maybe 2 or 3 chords at first!. After a while it will be easier for you to do the chords you've practiced as well as other!.Www@Enter-QA@Com