How To Switch Chords Fast And Smooth On Guitar

A very common subject that comes up with beginning guitar players is how to switch between guitar chords quickly and easily.  Changing chords seamlessly is a skill that is perfected by practice.  So I put together a few exercises that will help beginning guitarists master switching chords.  It's painfully obvious when a guitarist hasn't learned how to effectively change chords on stage, so make sure to practice these chord exercises to be prepared for any style of music and song.

Chord changes on guitar

Once you have learned chords on the guitar, it's important to practice changing between them smoothly.  The best way to practice this method is by building exercises that will help you transition between them.  Here is a great example of a simple exercise to begin mastering this method at http://guitar.about.com/od/commonbeginnerquestions/qt/switchingchords.htm.

The primary reason beginners have trouble switching chords quickly has nothing to do with their fingers, or the way they're sitting, or anything physical at all. Most often, new guitarists haven't learned to think ahead, and visualize exactly which chord they're about to play, and which fingers they'll need to move.

Try this exercise:

• Choose two chords you know. You will be moving back and forth between these two chords. 

• Play the first chord eight times (strumming evenly), and then, without breaking the rhythm of your strumming, quickly move to the next chord, and play that chord eight times. 

Did you need to pause while switching chords? If so, let's try and examine what the problem is. Try the following, without strumming the guitar:

• Put your fingers back in position to play the first chord. 

• Now, try and move quickly to the second chord, and study your fingers while doing so. 

Chances are, one (or a few) of your fingers will come way off the fretboard, and perhaps hover in mid-air while you try to decide where each finger should go. This happens, not because of any lack of technical ability, but because you haven't mentally prepared yourself for switching chords. Now, try fretting the first chord again. Without actually moving to the second chord, VISUALIZE playing this second chord shape. Picture in your mind, finger by finger, how to most efficiently move to the next chord. Only after you've done this should you switch chords. If some fingers continue to pause, or hover in mid air while moving to the next chord, back up and try again. Also, concentrate on "minimum motion" - commonly, beginners bring their fingers very far off the fretboard while switching chords; this is unnecessary. Spend five minutes going back and forth between the two chords, visualizing, then moving. Pay attention to any small, unneccessary movements your fingers make, and eliminate them. Although this is easier said than done, your hard work and attention to detail will start paying off quickly. 

Good luck! 

I understand it may be difficult to visualize these exercises without seeing an example.  I found a great chord exercise video here at http://www.learn-acoustic-guitar.com/beginner-acoustic-guitar-lesson-the-chord-workout.

Acoustic Guitar Lesson -- The Chord Workout 

If you are like most beginners, then you are probably having difficulty with your chord changes. You can play the chord just fine, but when it comes time to switching between chords, things start to get messy.  Sound familiar?

I found this great little video from GuitarJamz hosted by Tony Brucco. In this free acoustic guitar video lesson, Tony demonstrates a great little practice exercise he has coined “The Chord Workout”. Once you see it and put it into practice, you will see why its called a “Workout”.

Its a very simple exercise but very powerful at developing muscle memory and strengthening your hands.

Important - As Tony points out in the video tutorial below, make sure you are practicing these chord changes VERY SLOWLY. Slow is your best friend when you are a beginner. How slow? Slow enough to where you are able to switch between chords without error. Then you can gradually speed up.

Watch the lesson below to learn more….

For more information on changing chords effectively on the guitar check out the insight here at http://www.learncountryguitartoday.com/2011/05/mastering-guitar-chord-switches/.

One challenge guitar players face during the first couple of weeks of practicing is switching back and forth between chords. Part of the reason for this is beginners are still studying to memorize all of the chord names as well as the proper fingerings so there’s still a “lag” between chords.

An additional reason why switching chords is slow in the course of the very first couple of practice sessions is beginners would eliminate their entire hand from the neck of the guitar when changing chords, so the transition between the two chords just isn’t as fast and smooth. The trick that needs to be learned here is cutting down on the time and movement when switching between chords, so the entire method becomes seamless and seems virtually effortless.

A good technique to remember as you practice is visualizing ahead what chord you may play next. Attempt to imagine how it is possible to move your fingers to move to the best positioning rapidly, so you do not end up having to find your way around when it’s time to switch.

If you watch your fingers closely the very first few times you switch chords, you may notice a few of your fingers raised a little bit higher as you change finger positions. Even so, should you practice the chord switch carefully by visualizing all of the positions of the fingers and then practicing the fastest and easiest strategy to do the switch, ultimately the transition becomes smoother and quicker.

Attempt to gradually remove any unnecessary movements by your hands and fingers. This also cuts down the time it takes you to switch chords. Whenever you practice, practice switching between two chords over and over until there is extremely little movement and practically no lag within the switching. Whenever you visualize the chords, search for common fingerings where you won’t even will need to switch your fingers around.

In reality, the mastery of chord switching will come to you naturally as practice playing much more and far more, so in case you are just beginning out, don’t be concerned an excessive amount of about this. Focus your attention much more on studying the basic theories and also the proper finger positions, and you may locate that as you master the basics, the strategies grow to be simpler to determine also.

Electric guitar chord changes

As you may be able to tell by now, chords are a huge part of playing guitar.  I found some great advice on chords, changing between them and using a metronome in your practice routine here at http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/for_beginners/beginner_lesson_ii_the_basics.html.

I would like to start off today’s lesson with some advice on safety. This is something that is very important to me and I convey this to all my students.

Before I even pick up my guitar I stretch out my upper body; shoulders, wrists, fingers, back. (If you happen to know who John Petrucci is, he talks about this as well on his first video lesson). I have been doing this for as long as I have been playing. It helps keep me loose and relaxed.

For absolute beginners, the single most issue I hear is that when trying to form a chord they are squeezing the neck really hard. In the beginning stages that is tough to get past, however there are techniques to help strengthen fingers.

Take a tennis or racket ball and hold it between the pads of your thumb and four fingers. Just squeeze on it for a while. Do not try and destroy the ball, just squeeze enough for some resistance.

The other issue I hear is that, “the strings hurt my fingers”. Well, sorry to say, that will happen. You have delicate finger tips and you are pressing them against metal, (Unless you are playing a classical guitar). Until you form calluses, just take it slow. Form a chord and then stop! Do not over do it and take your time. Maybe start with lower gauge, (thinner), strings.

Remember: listen to your body, take your time and sit up straight!

In the next section I am going to introduce some new chords, practice tips and the metronome.

Typically, I give all my students a chord chart. This chart consists of 8 basic open chords. When I go through a first lesson I always encourage the student to try out the others on the chart. So with that being said, I encourage the reader to look up other chords and check out other lessons. There are some good lessons on UG and a wealth of info on the Internet.

I) Chords

In my first lesson I introduced E minor and A major. Now I would like to introduce E major and D major. For clarity I will add the fingering on the right of the tab.

o = Open, i = index finger, m=middle finger, r=ring finger, p= little finger x=don’t play
I will start with E major then D major.

Example 1: E major

E |-----------0---------o
B |---------0-----------o
G |-------1-------------i
D |-----2---------------r
A |----2----------------m
E |--0------------------o

Play each note separately. Can you hear each note? Are you sitting up straight?Example 2: D major

E |--------2------------m
B |------3--------------r
G |----2----------------i
D |--0------------------o
A |-0-------------------o
E |--------------------x

Same as before, play each note separately. 

Tips:

Remember not to keep your thumb parallel with the neck. You want your thumb to cradle the neck, that will be a useful position. When playing E major or E minor, have your thumb sit up so that it is not touching the low E string.

However with D major, place your thumb over the neck so that it is touching the low E string. You will notice that I included the A string in the D chord. This is ok; the A note is part of that chord and that low A note adds so much body when strumming.

Remember to use your finger tips not the pads.

If you can not hear a string, discover why.

- Are your fingers touching any of the other strings?

- Are you pressing hard enough?

- Finger nails too long?

Let your hand rest. 

II) Practice

So far you have learned four chords; E major, E minor, A major and D major. Once you have practiced these chords and have them down, it is time to work on accuracy.

A great exercise I like to show my students:

- Form the chord slowly

- Be sure that your fingers are hitting the fretboard at the same time and in the correct position

- Strum the chord

- Remove your hand totally off the fretboard. For instance, palm down on your knee.

- Repeat

Acoustic guitar chords on fretboard

Do this with all the chords you learn until you can play them without thinking about it. What we are going for here is muscle memory. Your hand and your fingers are essentially remembering where to go and what do. Just like learning how to write or ride a bike.

Another exercise I like to do with my students is run through a series of drills on topics we have covered to re-enforce the learning process and to gauge their level.

I would say things like:

Play E minor.

Play A major

Name all your strings

Pick a chord and tell me what chord you are playing.

One thing worth mentioning is that when you are practicing turn off the T.V., phone, computer. Don’t let anything shiny distract you. Just take a little time, sit down and work out the outlined chords.

III) Metronome

Ahhhhh, the metronome. Good friend of mine. I asked one of my students once if she got a lot of practice in over the weekend. Her answer was yes! Then I asked, “Did you practice with your metronome?”. Her answer... “You can’t take that to the beach!”.

Sigh. . .

Essentially, a metronome keeps time using a series of clicks with various speeds. I teach this very early so that you can learn the value of time. Get used to it because the metronome will be your best friend in music. So, take it to the beach!

For this exercise turn your metronome on and set it to 90 bpm ,(Beats per minute). Click - click - click - click. . . Now count for each click up to four.

1 (click) - 2 (click) - 3 (click) - 4 (click) Repeat

What you are going to do is play each chord you have learned on the “1”. Make sense???? Check out the example:

E minor                                    A major
1..........2.........3..........4..........1..........2..........3..........4

          D major
..........1..........2..........3..........4 

If you are having a tough time switching chords, slow down the metronome. Start at 70 bpm. The purpose of this exercise is switching chords with accuracy and time. 

IV) Conclusion

We have learned new chords; E major and D major. Remember, start slow and think about what you are doing. We have also learned some simple metronome techniques which will help you with accuracy and time. Last but not least, safety.

Being comfortable with chord changes on the fretboard is one of the most important skills to have for a guitar player.  I hope these exercises will help you work on chord changes and moving between them smoothly. 

Come back for more guitar lessons and information at Mike's Guitar Talk.

Have fun and stay tuned!

Mike