Hard time moving from one chord to another on time

Hey guys I already know all chords, open, bar, majors and minors, besides here i have a private teacher 2 hours a week but for the last weeks i think im stuck on this problem, everytime that i have to play a song that is faster than a romantic or slow one it seems that is impossible to catch the note, its hard for me when is from a open chord to a bar chors for example from A to Bm or any two notes that i have to move from a open chord to a bar ir the other way...

I really practice a lot all the chords but dont see that my speed to get from one to another chord is going faster, is this normal to feel like this?
do i have to practice and practice till one day im gonna crack the code and im gonna make it?

I already try the tips and put them on practice....

any other help or tip or trick beside practice and the tips here?

Thank you and sorry for my english is not my mother lenguage...

Ivan

Hi Ivan,

Good question - thanks for posting. A lot of players have this problem.

Here is what I suggest to my students who are struggling with that same problem:

As you get ready to make the change, focus your attention on the tip of your index finger. Notice where it is in chord #1 (the A chord, as in your example), and where it is headed in chord #2 (the Bm chord).

If you make an A chord using fingers 1,2,& 3, then the tip of your index finger is only one string away from where it needs to go to anchor the Bm chord. It's already in the correct fret (2nd fret).

Make that move first. As you go from A to Bm, Plant the tip of your index finger on the B note (2nd fret of the 2nd string), and use that as a pivot point to get the rest of the chord in place.

Try this out and let us know how it goes.

Good luck! -Lisa

Thanks Lisa im gonna try that right away and i let you know how it goes.

Ivan

It will come in time, but another thing that helped me when I was just learning was that its okay to strum without fretting a chord, but to remember to keep your strumming hand going anyways(KEpping in time), even if your fret hand isn't fully planted on the new chord. When playing faster strums(such as 16ths), it is common to strum during the change, just muting the strings by lightly touching them to deaden them

Gives your playing that chunky sound that many artists use. I also use it alot in rock with distortion(Along with palm muting with right hand).

Lisa can probably explain this better than me.

michael

A musical rule of thumb I have heard is to never stop for mistakes. Even if you're not getting that chord right on for the first strum, it's going to sound a lot better than pausing while you get it. (And it kind of forces the learning process imo.) After a while it can start to seem like there is actually a lot of time to get from one chord to the next.

Guitarplayer196 and Razbo are right on target, as far as my opinion goes.

Prioritize the timing.

In your very focussed practice sessions, focus on fine tuning the choreography of the chord changes - but when playing the piece up to pace, definitely focus on keeping the rhythm going on steadily, even if it's at the expense on the chord being perfect. Try to adjust the chord on the fly, if you can, while keeping the strumming good and steady.

Eventually, with focus and attention, it should all come together and merge into a great sound and great technique.

-Lisa

Thank you so much guys for the advice, Lisa, its getting better with your tips and im trying to stumming even if the chord is not in the next note on time and its getting better and better everyday i mean is nice to know that my right hand dont have to stop everytime that my left is not in position.

Im practice all this a lot but sometimes its so anoying when you try to hard and dont see any light at the end of the tunel but i know that with practice, patience and time and this tips i can make it more soon than later.

Thanks again

Ivan

Bravo Ivan! Keep us posted.

You can focus on timing and just "keep on strummin" as others have suggested. Certainly this skill will help a lot when playing with others and performing, when there's no time to stop and correct mistakes.

However, when practicing a chord progression on your own, it's helpful to isolate the difficult transitions. It sounds like you've already identified a problem area for yourself, so the next step would be to focus on that specific transition (A to Bm).

If you slow things down and really take the time to see what you're left hand is doing, you may find more efficient ways to bridge the gap. A lot of this will happen over time of course, as your hands acquire more "muscle memory" for the chords in question.