Struggling with chord changes

Hi all,

I've been playing for about three months (complete newbie).  I'm learning the chords well with the lessons, but I am struggling with changing chords.  I just can't seem to make them quick enough.  I'm working on Bad Moon Rising (made easy) intro.  I'm okay with the chords, D, A, and G.  But, I cannot make the transitions quick enough.  I get repetitions is the way and I have been practice every day.  I was wondering if there are any other practice methods I could try to help me get through this.  

Love the program, but I'm getting a little frustrated that I can't put things together and start playing songs.

Thanks in advance,

Greg

Hi Greg,

I had a look at this song and while it shows as "2 picks" and is a "made easy" version, the tempo is quite fast at 180 and Caren is really moving. This strumming speed is going to be a challenge. An option is to use the speed buttons to slow the speed down to 50%.

Learning songs is what this is all about but maybe you would do better finding a song in the 80 to 100 bpm range and as your skills improve move up in tempo. I don't want to discourage you from learning the song, but frustration and discouragement are our worst enemies. 

One last thing I would offer is, taking breaks is a good thing. I will often leave a song for a day or two and come back to it. The short break has allowed my brain to wire itself and I find I can make some progress.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I know it's fast tempo and I've been trying to go at a slower tempo.  But, I haven't slowed the video playback.  I might move on to something else and come back to it and keep working on it here and there.

Appreciate the response. 

First & foremost, be patient with yourself!

Do targeted practice on the chord changes.  Don't strum in time, don't follow the song.  Play each chord once & drill the motions of moving from each chord to the next.

Play D chord once.  Stop.

Play A chord once.  Stop.

Play G chord once.  Stop.

Repeat. 

Make this part of your practice session.  Until you get those motions completely automated you will always struggle with playing them in time.

Gradually add strumming them in time at a slower tempo.

Keep practicing.  Best of success!

Thanks, Christopher.

Hi Greg

This is something we all come up against.

We know the chords but aren't quick or clean enough for chord changes.

Anders also covers the intro lick for Bad Moon Rising in the Famous Lick section of the  songs section.

He plays it different to Caren , uses electric , but does a few slow play throughs  before he does the fast version.

He uses barre chords but you can follow his version with the simpler D,A and G open chords that Caren uses.

Christopher has given you the way forward .

There are no short cuts but you can keep revisiting the song or the Lick to see how you have progressed in your learning.

I'm only just managing the strum , the rythm and the chord changes DAG myself.

I'm in to my 3rd year and finding progress very slow.

One thing you do find is that most songs that you have listened to have so very much more to them than we first thought.

More layers, more instrumentation and way more difficulty.

The simple 3   chord play along song is a bit of a myth.

I'm 68, learning for fun and just seeing how I go.  

Turns out it's very slowly.  Lots of stuff to get to grips with in this guitar malarkey

Good Luck , progress does come.

Dave L

Thanks everybody.  I took Christopher's advice last night and just worked on playing each chord once.  It did make things easier and a couple of times I made the change well.  I'll just keep plugging away every day.

Good deal!  Glad it's working for you.  Keep practicing!

do the chord change very, very slow. pay attention how are you moving your finger.... see how are they landing at the fret board.... you need to create muscular memory.... give try, and be patient, its frustrating in the beginning but if you persist it will come.... just believe and practice...

I'm super new to this as well, so I completely relate.  As a parent when one of my kids are getting angry at a video game or whatever I tell them "get up and walk away.  You're obviously not having fun and when you aren't having fun you're just going to dig that hole of frustration and anger deeper" and that applies here.  If you keep trying something and just can't get it see how you can alter it or maybe switch to something else entirely that is less complex.

This has been a struggle for me as well, but I can see the daily progress a little bit at a time, so I know it's all working.  As stated before, simplify the pattern or slow down the speed so that you can do it and then over time it'll just naturally get better.

I train in Muay Thai (fighting style) and with new folks I always say "speed and power will come with time.  Focus on your form first and the rest will fall into place".  That applies here too, have patience, but also know your limits and what is helping to challenge you vs outright destroying you and removing the fun from the situation.