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“Dangers” of Chord substitutions as a beginner
I am doing the 30 days to play and struggling in improving my chord transition speeds into and out of C in particularly… I am doing 1 minute drills, and using a metronome etc trying to get them faster, but still stuck at around 2 seconds into and out of C most of the time…. While I am frustrated by this I am not giving up…
However, I am debating substituting the Cadd7 for C in simple GCD songs I am playing, just so they sound reasonable, and can transition faster into and out of it.. I don’t plan on giving up the transition practice and working on standard C, but is there any “danger” in this? IE better to keep trying with standard C even when just playing through simple songs, than doing the substitutions?
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14 Replies
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Hi @speckpgh , welcome to TAC. IMHO do not substitute! The transition speed will come in time (with lots of practice). It’s the repetition that builds the muscle memory between the fretting hand and the mind, if you choose to substitute, you’ll be short-circuiting that process. If your current speed is frustrating you, then move on to something else, you can always come back to a lesson at another time (if you want).
Believe me when I say, you will see improvement with just about all of your guitar skills over time if you maintain a regular practice routine – no BS – everyone that’s been here for a period of time will tell you the same thing.
Good wishes with your journey Sean, go Pens👍
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Thanks Bill, definitely happy to be here, and I am seeing improvement, just slower than I like…. like most things in life. I will keep working with and playing C. Right now, I am just wanting to play some simple songs, and I know there are plenty of them that are or simplify down to these 3 chords, so just want to get to where I can transition reasonably consistently between them at a reasonable speed so playing them actually sounds something like them, rather that pretty good and then complete loss of the rhythm when I hit a C and have to go into and out of it.
I know its just me wanting to run before I can walk, and i know it will come. I see the improvement.. I no longer and placing down the C one finger at a time, and am hitting the shape and position correctly without looking more and more often… its starting to stick, but just haven’t QUITE got it fully into the automatic brain system/muscle memory yet fully.
Thank you for the support and wishes. Go Pens.
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Hi @speckpgh and welcome to the TAC community. I wouldn’t necessarily “replace” the C chord, but I don’t see why you can’t have some fun too. Why not practice both when you’re playing? There are times we replace chords for sound, convenience, and that’s okay in my book. I don’t think I was ready to play songs yet when I was going through the 30 days to play. I give you credit for wanting to try, but remember that without a strong foundation, a house will fall, and that holds true for guitar too. Build your strong foundation now, and you’ll have a strong guitar routine and understanding down the road. I still struggle with the C chord more than most other chords. My fingers just don’t want to cooperate when it comes to it, but like you it’s gotten progressively better and better the more I practice transitions between different chords and the C.
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Hi Loraine,
Well I am definitely not ready for an audience, but like they say all work and no play makes Jonny a dull boy. I personally have no problem running through drills or doing things, but there has to be an end game. Sure its great when I can run through the chord transitions at a faster tempo, but eventually that gets boring…. So switch over from drills, to play (or try to play) a simple (or simplified) 3 or 4 chord song… at the end of the day… I’m still doing the same thing, playing and transitioning chords, but instead of randomly switching between chords, or doing the same chord switches over and over again there is a more fun to it.
C still is giving me issues, but I am improving, and can see the movement.
One of the most surprising things so far was finding out I STRUGGLE more with slow tempo. Metronome at 30-40 bpm and I find I have a hard time getting my body into that groove.. moving to 45 and smoothly moving to next chord just couldn’t get past… Just for fun I actually bumped up to 60, and even though struggled at 40, found I could get all my parts working in sequence better, and actually do better with Transitions, and found, I was suddenly had all kinds of time between the switch and the metronome click for the next strum, even though at 2/3 the speed I would struggle to just get the chord laid down before I was supposed to strum.
I am certainly nowhere near perfect, I still lay a chord down wrong or miss the beat now and again, but always improving.
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Hi @speckpgh , There are some chords I just have had a hard time with, and…… I change them. I have found that in time I can go back and use the chord I was supposed to use, sometimes not. The practice is to help you with your guitar journey. Not to frustrate you to the point of kicking the dog and breaking your guitar over the kitchen table (ok, maybe that’s a little overboard). I don’t see a problem with a little improvisation from time to time. Example being…. I am learning a song that changes from a Asus2 into Cadd9. I just can’t make the switch fast enough. So I changed it into something that I could do. Good luck
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Thanks Cadgirl. Believe it or not, speeding up my tempo of play actually improved my ability to put the C down, still not 100% right all the time, but no longer hitting the next time to strum, while still fiddling with my fingers… not sure why, but seems my body all works together better and a faster pace.
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@spekcpgh , congratulations to you!
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Thank you… little victories and all that…
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I’ve been using a “hover” drill to help improve my chord changes and it has helped a ton. I spend about 30 seconds “hovering” my fingers just above the chord. Not touching, but not too far away. This has helped building muscle memory and now I can make most chord shapes before pressing the strings. C and D are still my slowest chord changes, so keep up the practice. C is still difficult for me to hit at speed. I also keep a record of my speed. Looking back a couple of months, I have increased my speed by almost 5 BPM. I know that doesn’t sound like a huge victory, however for me I thought it was. Keep at it, and it will come.
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Agreed, I tried this too.. not just hovering but also making the shape, pulling my hand completely away from the neck and placing back. This has helped. My C is still the slowest of the original chords I had learned, but I have seen pronounced improvements in the last week, so hopefully over the hump as they say
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I think when it comes to learning songs, use your arsenal of chords that you know how to make. From those you choose songs to learn so you can focus on timing, strum pattern, etc rather than on just struggling with the change. But also, you can develop new chords by doing Tony’s Day 5 challenge and focusing on chord transitions that you want to add to your chord arsenal. So for you, sure the Cadd7 can be used in your songs now while you work on the garden variety C in transition exercises.
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Hello @speckpgh ,
Several people have said “Yes”, you can use that substitute C chord. But I will reinforce that.
First, let’s identify that chord. There is no such thing as an “add 7”, because 7th chords are a chord staple, not an extension. There are major 7ths and dominant 7ths. They are created by adding a fourth note to your triad chord. If that 4th note is one half step from the chord’s root, it’s a major 7 chord. If the 4th note is 2 half steps, or a whole tone, from the chord’s root, it’s a dominant 7, sometimes called a flatted 7th.
Now, one of the common teaching methods is to show beginners simplified chord shapes so they can realistically play a simple song. As their fingers gain more dexterity and independence, those more difficult shapes start to get easier to learn. There is no “danger” in doing this. In fact, just the opposite. Since it will increase your fun it will also increase your improvement. And, it will increase that time it takes to learn chord shapes. You will learn the C maj7 faster than the standard C shape, and you will later learn the standard C shape faster as your fingers will have had the chance to gain dexterity and independence.
So have fun and start playing songs.
MG 😀
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@MikeGaurnier and others – I can “C” clearer now about chord substitutions. I still struggle with transitioning true F and B chords cleanly but using them in songs I enjoy has improved them overall.
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😅👍
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