Originally Posted by: melissa84Hey guys,
Just starting out. Going through the beginner courses on the site now and have just begun learning one of the easier songs. Any advice for me in regards to how I can improve moving between chords? I can play them separately one at a time clear as day but when it comes to putting them together in a song it is all over the place. I'm all over the other strings.My mind knows what I need to do but my fingers are not following fast enough. I feel like I'm constantly having to look at my fingers to ensure they're on the right strings, frets, etc. My fingertips are so sore and I'm beginning to get discouraged. I'm sure all of this will get easier with time but just wondering if any of you out there might have any tips for me. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Some thoughts below:
1) Don't give up. Guitar isn't actually easy. Fun? Definately. Easy? Well, there is always something to learn so rare is the person who finds it easy. Sound discouraging? Not at all! You'll never get bored no matter how good you get. That is awesome. Sticking with it has a nice reward.
2) Switching chords - Don't try to get them all now. That is to say, when you're starting out and not as comfortable with chord changes, just get one of them down. Example:
-If a song has a progression of an Open G to an Open D to an Open A...
-Practice the G to D change. Start slow to let your brain connect between the two. Do it repetitively: G>D G>D G>D ...get that change down until you can get it to a nice speed.
Then get the next change in: D>A (slowly) and do it repetitively until you have that down
-Then tie them all together: G>D>A ....and you guessed it...slowly.
You see where I'm going here. You have to do a few things at once. You have to be able to move your figers to the right place, when you're not used to doing this skill, and you are strummping at the same time. You know that thing where to rub your belly and tap your head? Yep, it's like that. So, take your time and break it down in to smaller, bite sized chunks.
I still have to do this sometimes. Some songs I've been meddling with writing (melodies really) have funky little changes. An example is dropping the middle finger from a Dmaj (making it a D5). Not a major change...except my middle finger would just not cooperate! Not sure why but it is what it is. I've been playing since the early 80's, you'd think this simple little thing would be a cakewalk. It should be but the moral of the story is we all have that 'thing' that vexes us once in a while...even after 30 years.
3) Yes, you will constantly need to look at your fingers. Great players still look at the fretboard often. You'll just need it less as time goes on.
4) Finger soreness...par for the course. Key here is to know when to stop. Don't blister your fingertips.
Key to all this is:
Don't hurry.
Practice habits you develop now will help you in the long run if you built up good, methodical habits. I was a 'self-learner' and picked up many bad ones. In reality, playing guitar came reasonably natural to me. It was kinda comfy right off the bat. Which made me very lazy with regard to overcoming challenges when something was hard. Bad habit.
Take your time and recognize the small chunks of progress you have. You may not be comping jazz chords right out of the box but getting that one change (eg - G>D) is great progress. Guitar playing is cumulative. It's not always hard and that thing you learn now will help with that next thing on the horizon.
My thoughts.
