beginning chord changes  
 
 

By now you should be rolling along nicely. Let's continue by getting your fingers maneuvering through some chord changes. A chord change is, as the name implies, the act of moving your fingers from one chord shape to another. Once you get the hang of some basic chord changes, you can move on to strumming, and playing actual songs on your guitar. This is typically extremely tedious for the beginner, so if you become frustrated, you can find solace in the fact that you are not alone. Also, once you can successfully navigate through one or two changes, it becomes much easier to tackle new ones. Remember, the first chords you learn are the hardest chords you will ever learn.

This is going to be a short lesson, because it is quite self-explanatory if you've been doing your homework. Here's what I want you to do. Remember your G and D chords? If not, go to  Lesson Two  and don't come back until you've internalized them!! If you feel comfortable with them, read on. Play a G chord by placing your fingers on the appropriate notes, and check for clarity by picking one string at a time. When you are satisfied with what you hear, bring the pick downward through the strings with a smooth, fluid motion. If you are playing an electric guitar, your picking hand should be about halfway between the bridge (the part of your guitar's body where the string emerge from) and the neck. If you're playing an acoustic, your hand should hover over the sound hole. Count "one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand, four-one-thousand." Now, change to the D chord. While you are doing this notice that YOUR THIRD FINGER STAYS IN THE SAME PLACE!! If you move it, you are wasting motion, and time. Strum the D chord in the same manner as the G, making sure not to hit the 5th and 6th strings. A smooth, even motion will bring about the nicest tone. Count as you did on the G chord, then change back. Keep that third finger down! At first it is difficult to do this, but it is a great habit to get into. Small motions are everything when you're  playing the guitar. Your third finger will serve as an anchor for your hand as you change from one chord to the next.

Do you own a metronome? Do you know what a metronome is? A metronome is one of those thing you see on top of pianos with the arm going back and forth while it clicks away madly. If you don't have one, you need one. Not that you don't have a good sense of rhythm, I'm sure you do, but use of a metronome increases your consistency and sense of timing drastically no matter how good your "inner-clock" may be. You can purchase a small digital metronome at any music store for about $12-$15. When you return from the store, turn it on at 50 bpm, and strum the G four times DIRECTLY ON TOP OF THE BEAT!! Unfortunately I cannot be there to monitor your progress (yet), so it is up to you to be very critical of your performance. DON'T FORGET TO LISTEN TO YOURSELF VERY CAREFULLY!! Now comes the hard part. Your goal is to be able to change to the D chord without missing a beat. A great way to practice this is to eliminate the strumming hand from the equation. Just grab the G chord and hold it for a few seconds, change to the D, hold, change, hold, change, etc. Try doing this without strumming anything for awhile, then go back to strumming each chord four times. Whatever you do, keep the metronome on, and keep it slow. Speed is not a concern right now. It comes from muscle memory, which you develop though slow repetition. Good luck!!
 

"it's hard to be musical when you think about music"-richard thompson