Switching Between Guitar Chords Part I

One of the biggest hurdles to tackle when first learning the guitar is how to switch between chords.  This can be intimidating at first because you have to be able to grab and switch between chords fairly quickly in order to play most of your favorite songs.  This is where most people struggle.  The reason for this is that they don’t have a solid method for practicing their chords.

Here are my tricks for switching between chords:

1. Have a target note to look for.  Don’t try to put all the notes down at first.  Find one note to grab in the chord that can serve as reference point to where all the rest of the notes in the chord go.  Choose ones that are either on the outer most strings or close to the chord your changing from.
2. Leave early if you want to arrive on time.  One of the most common mistakes is that people hold on too long.  You have to leave a bit early in order to give yourself time to form the next chord.
3. Look for common fingers and or common shapes between chords.
4. Always think ahead to what chord is coming next.  You must prepare and anticipate what chord your going to.

Here is an example of chords with common fingers:

When switching from Amin to C, both chords have 2 notes in common. The 1st and 2nd fingers are in the same spots for both C and A minor. Lifting them up and starting over is a waste.  You already have 2/3rds of the chord down already.

Here is an example of chords with a common shape:

When switching from Amin to E you have 2 chords with the same shape but on different strings.  Try to keep the shape as you switch and don’t lift the fingers to far away from the strings.

Here is an example of chords with nothing in common, Em to G:

The key switching between chords with nothing in common:

• Leave early.  If your playing whole notes leaving early is easy.  If you have a more active strum pattern leave just a bit early just before the switch.  You should be hitting some open strings and that’s ok.  It doesn’t last long and won’t sound bad because it is just part of the guitars sound.
• Have a target note for the chord you are switching to.  In this case I would use finger #2 in the G chord as my target note because it is closest.

*If you are still having trouble with switching you may need to go back to the drawing board and just practice forming the chords over and over again.  GRAB, STRUM, LET GO REPEAT as taught in this lesson.  If you go slow and accurate and have patience it will happen!

Previous Lesson:Easy Guitar Chords 3

Next Lesson: Switching Between Guitar Chords-Part II

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