Hitting chords

I've only just started, so I'm sure this is over analyzing things, but...

When I do my chord transitions, I don't hit all fingers at the same time. I tend to put them on in a particular order. For example, for D major:

e 3
B 2
G 3
D 0
A x
E x

my fingers go on in this order: 1 (on B string), 2 (on G), then 3 (on e). I notice the same thing for Am - 1 then 2 then 3. Most of the others are similar. Is this typical for beginners, and should I work toward all fingers landing simultaneously or will that come naturally??

-Kirk

That is natural, eventually your fingers will have a sort of memory. You should work on quickening your chord changes, maybe by learning a song you know and it will come with time :)


-BC

This is normal in the beginning. Well at least it was for me :)

What you are actually doing is using one finger to guide the others. Once your finger finger is down, it's easier to make the other ones go on their respective spots.

With time your hand and finger will be used to the position and you won't need that first finger to guide them, they should work together.

Keep on working on those chord changes and it will come naturally. Even if you can't stay in tempo at first, try to lay down your fingers at the same time. Work on two chords until it flows correctly, then add more.

i think to an extend i still do that wth certain chords, just really quikly. i do it for open g a bit. dont worry it will pick up speed as u practice.

Thank you for the replies. I'm glad to hear that I'm not abnormal. :rolleyes: Seriously, I figured it was natural and would fix itself in time. Having only been doing this for about 3 weeks, I have a LONG way to go.

At this point I'm trying to identify particular chord progressions that are difficult for me to make and using a metronome to enforce a tempo. Once I find a tempo at which I can do the progression, I up the pace a teeny bit. Progressive progression progress, I call it.

-kirk

Hi Kirk,

Originally Posted by: KirkD
When I do my chord transitions, I don't hit all fingers at the same time. I tend to put them on in a particular order.
[/QUOTE]
That's normal ! With the time, your fingers will almost move together.

[QUOTE=KirkD]
For example, for D major:

e 3
B 2
G 3
D 0
A x
E x

Just to be sure, that's not an D major :-)

e 2
B 3
G 2
D 0
A x
E x

This is a D major. And you can play it with 1 finger on G, 3 finger on B and 2 finger on e.

I have this same problem and the biggest thing I did that is helping me with this is to pick two cords, place your fingers in the cord position this lift slightly and press about 25 times, then switch your fingers to the next cord, press and release about 25 times, then switch back to the first cord and press and release 20 times. Do this until you reach one press on each cord. What this does is help to build muscle memory. It works. Do this as part of your warm up or just your begining exercises.
Dan

Jean-F,

Oops! Thanks for the corrections.

Logan,

Interesting idea. I'll give it a run in my daily practice session.

Logan, I have done this with chords also although not that many reps I think I will add this to my warm ups. Thanks.

Kirk I think in the beginning most people do the same thing until your muscles
memorize the pattern.

It's really helped me with cord changes. I was "walking" my fingers onto the cords. Now my G to D changes are getting pretty smooth and fast. I've only been working on that change for about a week now. It's a little trick I picked up. If you guys try this method, I'd love to hear back on how it worked out for you. BTW, this is not my idea, it was taught to me. I'm just passing it along.
Dan

I've been trying the exercise mentioned by Logan826 with a bit of modification, I think. Here's what I'm doing: For each chord in the progression I'm learning (3 chords in this case) I hold the chord for about 1 second and then fully extend my fingers but keep my thumb on the back the guitar's neck. I do this 25 times for each chord, then 20 times, then 15, 10, and 5. I put in the fully extended fingers part so that I would have to find the proper position on the strings fresh each time. I would probably not do this for more than 3 to keep from installing muscle confusion rather than muscle memory.

OK, so I've only done this 2 days - yes that's jumping the gun for drawing a conclusion - but, the finger walking problem has almost completely gone away for these chords. The progression I'm working on is A D A E and I'm shooting for 65 bpm. Before I did this exercise, I could just barely keep up with 45 bpm and 50 wasn't clean at all. Now, I do NOT walk my fingers on A or D, and fingers 2 and 3 on the E land simultaneously. I can now do this at 55 cleanly. After two days!!

Again, this is a very early result and maybe I'm having irrational exuberance, but the change in two days was quite significant. I'll keep at it for another week and see how it goes. The next chord progression I want to tackle is somewhat harder - F C G F. A D A E is fairly easy, but F C G F should offer somewhat more of a challenge.

Until the next update....

Great, glad to hear that I could be of help. :)
Thanks,
Dan

Originally Posted by: KirkD
Jean-F,

Oops! Thanks for the corrections.

No problems !

Great for your improvements ! Keep practicing and stay motivate ! :)

Wow! I'm impressed at the muscle memory exercise and the results I'm getting in just a few short days. Like I said, the (very easy) chord progression I was working on (notice "was") was A D A E. Not a difficult progression, but only having played the guitar 3 weeks, it was challenging enough. I was struggling to keep up with a 45 bpm pace, and the play along music I had for this particular progression was at 55. Well, now after 3 days I'm able to keep up with the music and move it up to 65 reasonably well. It needs to be cleaned up a little, but it isn't bad. Wow!

Now that I've accomplished that goal, I've moved on to other progressions that I was a little slow on, such as G Em A D. No problem! I can keep up without any problems at all, so what I gained from training with Logan's muscle memory exercise transferred directly.

I mentioned the next challenging exercise is F C G - we'll see how that one goes, but I have tremendous confidence now. :)

Thank you for the encouragement!