Chords fingers placement

Hi,

I'm a beginner since two months and I still can't learn a song because I can't change chords fast enough. I've found that video from Guitar Tricks https://youtu.be/De2D3SBKWWg where Gary Heimbauer explain to remember the shape of the fingers and place that shape on the strings all fingers at the same time.

When I watch videos of fundamentals 1 by Anders Mouridsen, he says to place fingers one by one and thats what I'm doing when I practice with a metronome. Am I doing it right or is this a bad habit that I should stop doing? I know that in the end my fingers will have to drop on the strings all at the same time but I'm just hoping it will come with practice isn't it?

I'm a little lost here and any help would be much appreciated.

Noël

Originally Posted by: nandre1276

I'm a beginner since two months and I still can't learn a song because I can't change chords fast enough.[/quote][p]You might benefit from just focusing on chord changes. Until you can do them effectively & efficiently you won't be able to play them in time & thus play a song.

Don't try to strum in time, don't try to play a song. Just focus on getting your chord changes solid. Do focused practice on chord changes. Take any 2 chords.

Form & play a C major. Strum it once to make sure it sounds good.

Form & play a G major chord. Strum it once to make sure it sounds good.

Repeat.

Incorporate all the other open chords into this routine as you are able. Just focus on getting the chord changes right until they are automated, as if they are second nature. If you try to mix in strumming, learning a song, and other things before you can do the basic physical motions of chord changes you are just going to get frustrated.

Be patient with yourself. :)[br][br]

Originally Posted by: nandre1276Gary Heimbauer explain to remember the shape of the fingers and place that shape on the strings all fingers at the same time.[/quote]

Yes, that's the ultimate goal & what you are aiming for.

[quote=nandre1276]When I watch videos of fundamentals 1 by Anders Mouridsen, he says to place fingers one by one and thats what I'm doing when I practice with a metronome.

That's much earlier in the learning process. You have to start by placing one finger at a time as a beginner. But as you practice & progress you want to eventually aim toward placing all your fingers together at the same time.

So, those instructors are referring to different levels of the learning process.

[quote=nandre1276]Am I doing it right or is this a bad habit that I should stop doing? I know that in the end my fingers will have to drop on the strings all at the same time but I'm just hoping it will come with practice isn't it?

Yes, it will come with practice! Keep going! It takes some students longer than others. But everyone has to go through the same process. You have to do repetitious practice until the motions become second nature & you can think "Play this chord" & your brain, hands & hours of practice take care of the details so you can focus on strumming in time or what they next chord is.

Hope that helps!

Thanks a lot for your answer Christopher

But do you think I should continue practice changing chords with one or two fingers at a time and with time I will be able to place them at the same time, or do I have to restart from the begining and learn the shape with my fingers so I can just drop all the fingers at once?

I just wonder if I'm doing it right

Originally Posted by: nandre1276

But do you think I should continue practice changing chords with one or two fingers at a time and with time I will be able to place them at the same time, or do I have to restart from the begining and learn the shape with my fingers so I can just drop all the fingers at once?

It depends on where you are in the learning process. If you can change chords easily by placing all your fingers at once, then do it. You are beyond the stage of trying to place fingers one at a time.

But if you are still at that stage of placing one or two fingers at a time that's fine. Make time to work on gradually getting your fingers in place at the same time. Because that's the end goal. That's usually what's necessary to change chords & play in time with music.

And your skill level will progress at different speeds for different chords, chord changes or tempos.

Hi,

I've tried to memorize the shape of each chords and practice changing chords like that. The problem is when I have to be fast my fingers tends to place one by one, because I guess it's still faster for me. What should I do now?

Thanks

Originally Posted by: nandre1276

I've tried to memorize the shape of each chords and practice changing chords like that. The problem is when I have to be fast my fingers tends to place one by one, because I guess it's still faster for me. What should I do now?

Keep practicing. :) Do a lot of focused practice on those difficult chord changes & be patient with yourself.

But is it ok if my fingers instinctively place one by one or should I force them to place at the same time even if I practice slower?

To be honest I thought a lot about it and my conclusion was that placing finger one by one is a bad habit because now my brain does it like this

Originally Posted by: nandre1276

But is it ok if my fingers instinctively place one by one or should I force them to place at the same time even if I practice slower?[/quote]

It's a necessary first step for some students. But you should gradually work toward placing them together because that's the logical progression of skills required to play music in time.

[quote=nandre1276]To be honest I thought a lot about it and my conclusion was that placing finger one by one is a bad habit because now my brain does it like this

It's only a bad habit if you never try to advance to placing them together. But for some students & some chords it is sometimes a necessary first step.

If you can play the chord by placing all the fingers at once, that's great! You've made the necessary progress. Keep practicing!

Thanks for your help Christopher

So now I think I have to practice placing my finger all at once. So do you think I should lower the tempo on the metronome to practice chord change? Because now oddly, I change chords slower when I place my fingers at the same time.

Originally Posted by: nandre1276

Thanks for your help Christopher[/quote]

You're welcome!

[quote=nandre1276]So now I think I have to practice placing my finger all at once. So do you think I should lower the tempo on the metronome to practice chord change? Because now oddly, I change chords slower when I place my fingers at the same time.

Slowing the metronome for difficult chord changes is a great strategy. I'm not sure I've effectively explained my reasoning here.

There is an acceptable time in the learning process for:

1. Placing fingers one at a time.

2. Placing fingers all at once.

3. Just focusing on the motion of a chord change.

4. Using the metronome at a slow enough tempo to practice any given chord change.

5. Using the metronome to push yourself to see what your limit is on any given chord change.

All of these are fine depending on where you are in the learning process.

In fact for as long as you play guitar you will find that more difficult chord changes or physical motions will require you to move through some (or all!) of those 5 stages. The important part is to be aware of where you are in the learning process as you are practicing.

Does that make sense?

As usual, Chris is spot on.

The only thing I may add is perhaps to work on three chords at a time - specifically the 3 major chords in a particular key. While I was growing up, everyone around me learned G, C, and D major first (Key of G), then A, D, and E major (key of A).

Learning the major chords in a key opens up the ability to work on songs while improving your chording skills.

In my neck of the woods, we played a lot of country and bluegrass, so banging your way through those two keys ensured that you could at least sit in the back row on jam sessions.

The chords are pretty easy to learn.

Have fun!

Thanks Christopher

[br]With one or two fingers at a time I was practicing with a metronome strumming on beat one and increasing the tempo by 5 or 10 when my chords changing was perfect at the last tempo.

I did the same with placing my fingers all at once and I noticed that I had to go back and lower the tempo for each chords changes.

I'm taking notes on what I'm doing to remember how I have to practice each chords changes, here are the two notes, the old one with one or two fingers at a time and the new one with all fingers at once.

[br]

[br]

Originally Posted by: Rumble Walrus[p]As usual, Chris is spot on.

[br]The only thing I may add is perhaps to work on three chords at a time - specifically the 3 major chords in a particular key. While I was growing up, everyone around me learned G, C, and D major first (Key of G), then A, D, and E major (key of A).

[br]Learning the major chords in a key opens up the ability to work on songs while improving your chording skills.

[br]In my neck of the woods, we played a lot of country and bluegrass, so banging your way through those two keys ensured that you could at least sit in the back row on jam sessions.

The chords are pretty easy to learn.

[br]Have fun!

Thanks that's a good advice, but I just followed the fundamentals 1 course for beginner, so the only chords I'm practicing for now are Em, Am, D and C. I noticed that I can't do any song with those chords, for exemple the simplified version of Simple Man use the G chord. It will take time but I guess I will focus on those first because I'm too advanced in the my practice with those chords, and more chords to practice would take too much time. If I have known before I would have practiced the way you said.

I wanted to ask you, what does it means when you say key of G and key of A?

Sounds like you are organized & motivated in your practice routine. That's wonderful!

Originally Posted by: nandre1276

I'm taking notes on what I'm doing to remember how I have to practice each chords changes, here are the two notes, the old one with one or two fingers at a time and the new one with all fingers at once.

[/quote]

Good deal. Eventually you want to combine those chords into larger groups which is the point of the discussion that follows.

[quote=nandre1276]I wanted to ask you, what does it means when you say key of G and key of A?

A key signature is the scale that all (or most) of the notes & chords of a piece of music belong to.

As a beginner you encounter this concept as chords that are commonly grouped together. They are grouped together because they all have notes that belong to one scale, therefore sound good together & are commonly used that way.

Lisa covers them from a beginner perspective in her GF course starting in Chapter 6.

https://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=fundamentals1lisa

But for now it's okay for you to just keep building your skills at the chords you are working on. Keep practicing them, add more chords as you are able & eventually you will be ready for the various chords grouped in key signatures!

Don;t feel bad.  I started three months ago and I'm syill on the D major with anders.  I'm 73 so might be taking longere.  

What helped me years ago, was picking two chords, and practice, in slow motion moving back and forth between the two chords. I left the strumming hand completely out of it so I only had to focus on the chord changes. I also wouldn't worry about using a metronome at this point, it may just cause frustration. Don't worry, it will all come together, we all had these challenges in our early stages, just don't give up, and feel like you have to be in a hurry. It's not a race, it's a journey.