Kenny Chesney led the Academy of Country Music (ACM) nominations last week with a total of 9 categories covered, including Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, and fan-voted Entertainer of the Year award.
If country is your top genre, you know that your guitar is your best weapon. For beginners, however, there are often a few things that might hold you back. First, the painful process of building calluses can drive many to stop practicing. Second, there’s always that awkward stage of learning to seamlessly transition to different chords. You know the drill - practice makes perfect. But here are some additional tips from Teachstreet.com to help with switching chords:
1. Keep your fingers as close to the fret board as possible. When that pinkie and third finger start flying out in space it takes longer for them to come back down.
2. Build your chords from the bottom string up. For some reason a lot of us get in the habit of building our chords from the top down. Like in an open C major chord, starting with the 2nd string, then 4th, then 5th. The problem with that is your pick is going to hit the bottom strings first, so get those notes placed first. That extra split second will give you a chance to get the last top bits of the chord in place. I know it seems like a negligible amount of time, but you’ll be surprised how it can improve your guitar playing.
3. When moving from one chord to the next, move the finger that has the farthest to go first. For instance, in moving from G major to C major in the open position, your first finger has to move all the way from the 5th string to the second. Lead with that finger and you’ll find that your other fingers naturally pull along behind to end up close to their intended frets as well.
4. Stay relaxed and let the natural movement of your hands help you get to the chord. Believe it or not, the guitar is actually designed very well to accommodate the natural movement of the human hand. When you use tip #3 and lead with the farthest finger, your other fingers will follow along behind it naturally and you can get them to settle in the right place. If you tighten up they won’t move as naturally, so stay loose.
5. Keep your right hand moving. The way your brain works has a lot to do with how your hands react. As a beginner, your brain is giving you permission to stop in between chords and rationalizes it as “we’ll get it eventually.” It’s normal and happens on a subconscious level. You can easily change that by setting up a dissonance in your brain. That means presenting your brain with a problem it needs to fix. Here’s the way it works: You brain loves when your hands are moving together. So if you force your right hand to keep strumming, no matter what happens in your left, your brain will want to solve that dissonance by making your left hand move faster to keep up with your right. Exactly what we’re looking for.
Did these tips help? What other advice can you give to the beginner guitarist? Leave a comment on our Facebook page and share your expertise! Like this article? Don’t forget to share on your favorite social network!
