Tough time while changing chords

Hello friends,

My name is sammy, I am a beginner, I bought Ibanez guitar (jam pack). Started learning guitar very recently (no music background). I learned simple G, simple G7, simple C, D & A7. I am having tough time while changing from one chord to other especially between D & A7. My fingers are paining, touching the adjacent strings.

Is it common with all the beginners or am I unfit to play guitar. Need some tips and advice. I am currently using Guitar Methods software for learning. Its pretty neat. In a couple of months I want to become a paid member here.

Need advice.

Thank you.

Everything you mention is normal at the beginning. Keep practicing! The chord changes will come faster and your fingers will toughen up. Try to keep your fingers coming down on the strings straight. You want to old them with the very tips to help prevent muting adjacent strings. It takes time. Have patience! ;)

Thanks Razbo. Appreciate your reply.

Hey there,

I'm pretty much at the same stage of playing as you I even got myself the same Ibanez set and yeah your fingers will hurt but that seems to be normal for new players.

Your fingers have to get used to the strings and toughen up and (at least in my case) my fingers aren't as nimble as they used to be so I have a hard time hitting the right spot for some of the chords.

But according to a friend they should loosen up within a month or so :)

Hi Sammy,

Welcome to Guitar Tricks!

Everyone has these problems in the beginning. Keep at it, keep making the minor adjustments in your angle and position to improve your tone.

I have a couple of tutorials here on GT that could be a really good fit for you:

ACOUSTIC CORE CONCEPTS: HOW TO MAKE FASTER CHORD CHANGES

"SPIDER LEGS" FINGER WARMUP EXERCISES

Let me know your thoughts - and best of luck!
-Lisa

My fingers would hurt so bad I couldn't touch anything and the callouses would get so bad on the tips of my fingers I would have to cut them so I could keep playing.

About 2-3 weeks of playing a lot and it all goes away no pain no callouses...

Thank you all friends. Appreciate your reply.

@ Lisa,

Thanks a lot. Sure, I will definitely try your classes. I have gone through your free classes. They are awesome.

Thank you,
Sammy

Hello Sammy,

I'm in the same position you are in currently. I think we even bought the same pack (is yours also the Ibanez GRX70 in black ?).

One thing that helped me a lot was changing the strings on the guitar. I replaced them with D'Addario XL Super Light Gauge strings (.009 - .042 as written in the manual) EXL120-3D. It's a lot less painful to practive chords with them.

The only thing I can say is DONT GIVE UP. It can seem impossible, but with time it becomes second nature. I don't know anyone who had a tougher time with chord changes than I did. Most people I know said they got them down fairly well in about a week. It took me nearly a month. But none the less, i do it without thinking about it now for the most part.

It can be frustrating, but its never impossible. What helped me the most were practicing scales, and the song Wonderwall by Oasis. Even if you dont plan to play lead, the scales, and the finger exercise Lisa linked, if played properly (IE all 4 fingers) were great to develop finger independence. Wonderwall, on the other hand, is great strumming practice, and your pinky/ring finger stay on the same two frets/strings the entire time. Not only does it keep you from getting bored by giving you a song to play before you get your full open chord changes down, it's a great song to practice strumming. Sounds good played slow or fast.

At least those are what helped me the most. Your mileage may vary. The point is to stick with it. Everything comes around eventually :D