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Chord Transition/Power Chords
Hello, everyone. I am new to the TAC family and I am working my way through the 30-day challenge. I was hoping for a little advice/assistance with some weak areas I know that I have.
1. Transitioning between chords. I have tried Youscian and the Gibson App, but when it comes to chord transitions, I get stuck because I can’t match the speed that they want me to play. I get frustrated and lose that spark for learning guitar. Does anyone have advice or maybe a routine to help me get faster at doing these changes?
2. I learned the power chord shape using two fingers and I am have some difficulty with the three finger power chord shape. Two fingers and I am flying over the fretboard, but adding the pinky really screws me up. Once again, any advice or maybe a practice routine that has helped with the power chord?
Thank you in advance for any advice/routines you can help me with. It’s great to have a forum like this. I am pretty sure that Youscian and Gibson don’t offer this feature. It is great to be able to get help with one’s journey learning how to play guitar. Major kudos to Tony just for this.
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5 Replies
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</div><div>Typically your transitions are slow because the chords are not yet ingrained in your subconscious.
It takes time. Basically you want to move the finger positioning routine from your conscious to your subconscious mind or what some people call muscle memory.
There are practice steps you can do to accelerate the process. The brain creates these routines based upon the amount of the attention you apply when learning and the how often you repeat the process.
The secret for me is to do dedicated, isolated practice for 10 mins every day, for a little over a month.
My steps are
– position my fingers and pick each string, if I have a muted string then slightly reposition the offending finger and repeat the above until every string rings out clearly.
– keeping my hand positioned I will then press down hard on the strings and then release the pressure, but keep contact with the string. Repeat this 20 times
– I then lift the fingers off the strings about 1/4” and repeat step 1.
– once I am consistent with that I will place one finger at a time, starting with my index finger, then middle, then ring. Do that 10 times, then start with the middle finger, then index, then ring. The start with ring finger, middle, index. I go through all permutations of first and 2nd and 3rd finger down. Then I move to trying to place 2 fingers at once and then adding the 3rd. Go through all of those permutations. Then go for all fingers at once.
You should notice slight improvement each week and then one day suddenly all your fingers will go to the right position. It takes me a month of this daily practice to get where the chord is automatic.
Once I have the chords automatic I work on doing transitions. One of these is to see how many transitions I can do in a minute, without strumming. Over 60 is the goal but in the beginning it’s closer to 25-30. These are often sloppy and not perfect chords.
Once I reach 60 (often a few weeks). I then add a strum and now strive for perfect sounding chords after each transition. This typically knocks me back down to the 30-45 transitions per minute range and I will work on this for a few weeks to get it back up to 60+.
Being methodical in the approach is the key for me and it can take months to get there.
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My first advice is never ever let frustration get in the way your learning to play guitar. Now about frustration: is not being able to play something causing frustration? It took me a good deal of time to be able to identify my own source of frustration. Try to figure out why you are frustrated. It went way beyond not being able play something for me. If you want to talk through it we can chat on message if you prefer or forum, whichever makes you more comfortable.
For power chords two or three finger….both have their advantages. If you have nailed your two finger down and you are satisfied with how it sounds, carry on! At some point you may have to learn the three finger method because doing it with two won’t work but, that is not today so play until it doesn’t work, then find a new way unless curiosity gets the better of you and you learn it just to compare.
Fast progress to you.
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@joseph-vitzen Welcome the TAC family.
There’s a great way to practice transitions by using a metronome. It can be either a physical one or an app. I use a metronome app called Pro Metronome. Set it at 4:4, turn the dial to a low tempo, such as 30-40. Work on transitions between 2 chords. I typically take the first 2 chords in a song, then I take the 2nd and 3rd, 3rd and 4th and so on. Any chords that are next to each other, but only work with 2 at a time. Start the metronome. On the first click strum your chord, then transition to your next chord during the 2,3, and 4 beat. On the beginning of the next set of 4 beats, strum the chord, and again use the 2, e, and 4 beat to transition. Once you’re able to do that 20 times in a row with any errors, the bump the speed up by 10. Start the process again. Keep increasing the speed as you’re able to transition smoothly and without erre. I guarantee this works.
I learned power chords both with 2 and with 3. 2 is definitely much easier. Give it your best shot with 3 fingers, then mark it complete and ove on. Don’t let it trip you up and stop your momentum or energy. We’re all about progress rather than perfection. You will continue to improve just by the forward momentum. Also, of a 2 finger power chord works for you, keep on doing it.
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Thank you all for this wonderful advice and ways to get better at chord transitions. I know it takes time and practice to get all this stuff down and into muscle memory, but sometimes I just get frustrated because I want to do it right the first time or at least be able to transition at a decent pace. I know that I will get there.
Power chords, kind of happy with the two finger approach now, but will still try with the third finger.
I guess my frustration comes from using other apps for over a year and I just don’t feel like I have gotten anywhere. Sure I can play notes better and picking the right string isn’t too much of a problem, but I feel that’s it. Here though, I like the way things are broken up into daily tasks, i.e. focus on chords one day, picking or strumming the next, ect.
Thank you everyone for the support. I really do appreciate it.
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Great analysis @joseph-vitzen : The keys to your fastest progress lie right in the middle of your analysis!
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