Changing Chords Faster
Just about every beginning guitarist struggles with changing chords faster.
While I don’t want to imply that we’re going to cheat our way through this roadblock… we kind of are with this video.What you’ll see is that when you play up to speed, you can easily “fudge” the last half a beat. It’s not only okay, it’s common. It almost sounds creepy to play too perfectly!
If you like this video you’ll probably really like Strumming And Rhythm Mastery, or if you're a total beginner I encourage you to check out Beginning Blues Guitar.
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Very helpful. This is something I’ve struggled with from day one.
Kevin, just practice slowly at firts. until you get it.then try it faster keep paceint and you will get it.
Great or bedinners griif. i have ben learning the song, :IN DREAMS” By Roy Oberson..the first part a A SANDY CORED CLOWN THEY CALL THE SAND MAN. THAT OPENING VERSE, YOU JUST STRUM ONCE FOR EACH LINE AND STRUM ON THE SECOND VRSE ONE TOIME . THE THE FULL STRUM 4 BEATS AT A 12 BARS AND JUST STRUM AWAY YOU COE ON HALF THE STRUM WITH THE VOCALS. FINALLY GOT IT DONE AND AL THE WORDS. VERY HARD SONG TO LEARN AND SING AT THE SAME TIME. IT’S NOT BLUES, BUT CAN BE PLAYED IN A BLUES MOOD.
Educated man woohoo
Why not teach beginners to play the G chord with the 3d finger in the 6th, the 2d on the 5th and the pinky on the 1st. Then, the switch between chords is much faster and less awkward.
Exactly. Same for E and A and D.
Long ago, I heard this “trick” referred to as the emergency passing chord or EPC.
No matter how hard I try I still can’t get my strumming pattern right. It seems odd not to play the strings on a down beat or an up beat – or to ‘slough’ the strings & not play chords. I just can’t get the rhythm right. Help plese Griff!!!!
Me too! – Although this is probably one of the hardest Griff videos to follow if, like me, you are rhythmically dyslexic!
Not that the content is difficult, its just that the strum pattern is hard to decipher from the video does it skip a strum on the third?
Just needs a little diagram with music notation showing the strum pattern for a bar. Then a just a normal, perfectly done Griff lesson!
1+2+3+4+
D DU UDU
It helps me to think of it as down, down,up,up,down up. Hope this helps
Great Lessons as always.
This is a great mini lesson for us newbies. Thx Griff
I think it just takes practice. That form of G chord has always been awkward for me.
Nice hint thank you
So getting used to hearing the 2 second gap between chords is sort of like getting used to odors in your house. Like the Febreze commercials.
Good lesson. It sounds infinitely better with the open strum added in there, and you get to muscle memorize the correct whole strumming pattern (so you can recognize it for what it is, lol)
Thank you!
Great trick! Very helpful.
Thanks Griff
It actually, sounds, good strumming with the flat stirrings inbeween chords…Thanks Griff!
Wow, that`s where I have been going wrong,
thanks Griff.
Thank you griff this hint really hit home
Followed along your lesson using my guitar. Never thought of it before, but I always make chord changes after the upstroke…just seems natural. The lesson brought attention to something I never thought about and probably spent years correcting.
Now back to learning/memorizing your “Time Spent Blues”.
Good cover up lesson to keeping it moving. Most people use drugs to get there speed up. It does cost allot more then this very simple trick with out the brain treat.
Think you l well try it out
Just getting started so this looks like a good way to start a GOOD HABIT and avoid Re- learning after establishing a bad one — Thanks !!!
Thanks for this great lesson it has helped me improve my playing.
Excellent Griff.. Had been trying hard on this pattern recently. Thks.
Good lesson. Another helpful item is a pivot finger. Especially if that finger is used in the next chord on that same string. However, between G and C there isn’t one.
all of your tips are great! thank you have learned a lot. like reading the reviews appears that in most cases i’m not alone
This is what I’ve always done, so it’s sounds faster, does this mean I should still try and hit the next chord without the half beat or am I cool?
This is very useful advise , and I have been using this from your earlier video on same subject . Thanks to make guitarist a good player .
Hey Griff, All good I saw this lesson back in July 2016 and since then I purchased your BGU Course Strumming and Rhythm Mastery and practicing the greatest strum in world. It all make sense now, awesome.
Michael-Sydney-Australia 24 June 2017.
yes
Thank You Griff , this 69 year old beginner dude is getting it now. slow but sure. I love it.
Dang, where were you when I had to learn this all by myself by watching and listening?I have been teaching this to a student and your video really brought it home. Thanks.
Hi Griff and followers!
Just a thought? How about if the pupil gets the teacher (his Dad, mate, whatever) to do the strum at a “do-able” tempo, keeping out of the way so that the chord changes can be made without the tendency to “wait” for yourself? Could even try it with a 1,2,3,4 and rhythm?
Whatever works! However, I am inclined to think that if you practice and master the strum first with fingers just laid loosely across the strings, and then just keep it going with chord changes instead, it will work because your strum becomes like a pendulum.
Great advice Griff, thanks
Keep the sound moving as a fill in for the ears that are listening. It works. along with getting your cord changes in your head. so that you do not think about it as you do it.
Griff. I saw this way back but thought I’d check myself again and yep! I was creeping back to the “gap”. Thanks for the reminder. And Yep too, that strum is sooo common huh
thankyou, brother! very helpful!
Griff, I’ve played rhythem guitar for a long…long time 50+ years and lead occassionally and not very well (that’s why I’ve been using Blues Guitar Unleashed with great results.) But people always ask how I make such quick chord changes and I’ve just said that I’ve been doing it a long time. Now I realize I’ve been cheating all this time. I watched this video and said “I’m not doing that, am I?” So I took it my guitar and played some changes and sure enough I’ve been cheating. I even fooled myself! Great short video that will help a lot of new guitarists. Thanks.
Need a great deal of practice to master this until one can learn to apply it with a song…
Thank you Griff for revisiting this aspect of guitar development. The changes do certainly get better with practice. Finger memory is key (no pun intended). I generally get into defence mode when I hear or read others critise a suggestion and provide their spin on something that already has stood th test of time. Clearly every one is both entitled to their opinion and choice in such matters. Just do not raise opinions that are negative towards a truly great guitar tutor. Such comments are not constructive.
Very good lesson -start chord change early keep strumming hand on time.
That’s something I was missing – good lesson
On learning to change chords faster: My first experience on guitar was in 1962 on a borrowed Stella 6 string that required a set of vice grips to tune it, and vice grips to hold the strings down. But I persevered. I did get a Gibson LGO shortly thereafter which helped a lot. I developed a routine that when I was learning any chord, I would learn the fingering, finger the chord, then completely open my left hand and finger it again. In fairly short order, my fingers learned the most efficient way to get to that chord. Then I would practice going from any other chord to the new chord to reinforce the finger memory to efficiently get to the new chord. I had a book called “Learn the guitar in 30 minutes” which has lots of old folk songs using open chords and I would play those songs and work on any chord change that caused a delay. It worked for me. Just sayin’.
Thanks Griff
For reminding me of that trick about adding that extra strum .
What is the down strum and the missing up strum combination again. Thanks JG
Strumming patterns drive me a little crazy. I struggle to find and remember them. This helped.
thanks Griff, I agree with all above
Exactly! A great help. Would like to see a video covering several useful strum patterns I need to “get down pat.” I know the chords to play in a jam track but am less than proficient at what/how to strum using them.
Griff has nailed again. His sleight of hand works with this other basic strum as well.
1+2+3+4+
D D DUDU
Thank you