Changing chords

The basis of any piece of music is the chord progression it uses. I have written many articles about progressions, where they come from, why some sound better than others -- but I have never written about the physics of actually changing from one chord to another.

I constantly get letters about this subject, in fact it's probably the most frequent of questions: How do I change chords quickly and smoothly?

The most obvious of answers is that time and practice will enable the process, that muscle memory and a thorough knowledge of chords will eventually win out, but here are a few tips to get there that little bit quicker:

1. Know the progression; you should be ready for the next chord as soon as you've fingered the present chord. Once you've got the present chord ringing, your brain should be preparing for the next one. You should be able to "see" it there on the fretboard, and your hand should already be anticipating the move it will have to make.

2. If it's a barre chord coming up, make sure the barre finger gets there first. Remember that there are only a few shapes that go with barre chords - the E and A forms for both major and minor are the main ones to concentrate on. The sevenths and sixths and sus4s are just variations.

3. Start from the bass up, in other words get the root note down first and then build the chord on top of it. For example, if the chord is a C chord, get the C note on the fifth string down first. You can always play that one note as the first beat while you're arranging your other fingers for the next beat. For that to be effective, you've got to know which finger to begin with so the others are free to finish the job.

4. Look for smaller versions of the chord. It takes a while to realize that chords come in different sizes. Because guitars have six strings, we tend to think chords have six notes. That's not true. Simple chords consist of only three. Slightly more complex chords, like sevenths, contain four. So, without going into it in great detail here, make things easier on yourself by looking for more compact versions of chords.

The main thing to realize here, and I know it's hard to swallow if you're impatient by nature, is that time and practice will solve this problem. These chord shapes which are new to you now, will become so engrained that you won't even think about the process after a while. What now seems like an impossible task will be second nature. Not only that, you will see that any given chord imprints itself on the whole fretboard in several positions, and you will be able to choose where on the neck you want to play that chord.

Most importantly, you will discover that the chord of the moment is the rule setter for that moment and will reveal all potential melodies, harmonies, riffs, licks -- for the whole length of the fretboard.

That's when the real fun begins.

All the best and keep on twangin'

Kirk
http://www.guitarforbeginners.com
http://www.lorange.kirk.net
http://mp3.com/kirklorange