Guitar · Chapter 10 of 23
Changing Chords in Time
Knowing the chords is one thing; getting from one to the next on time is the real skill. Here are the tricks guitarists use.
The beat comes first. If a chord change isn’t ready in time, keep strumming anyway: a few open strings on the way are better than stopping. Little by little, the change gets faster.
Four tricks
1. Anchor fingers
Look for a finger that stays put. From C to Am, fingers 1 and 2 don’t move: only finger 3 hops from string 5 to string 3. From D to D7, finger 1 stays.
2. Move as a block
Lift all the fingers at once and put them down at once, already in the new shape, instead of placing them one by one.
3. Let go early
On the last “and” before the change, lift the fingers and play the open strings while they travel. You will hear it a little, and that’s normal.
4. Look ahead
Read the next chord before you need it, and picture the shape a beat early.
C to Am: one finger moves
G to C to D
The changes in most campfire songs. Strum each chord for a bar of the folk strum. Start slowly; when it feels easy, press + to speed up.
One-minute changes
A drill used by many teachers: pick two chords, set a timer for one minute, and switch back and forth, strumming once per chord, as many times as you cleanly can. Write down the number. Try again tomorrow. Good pairs to start with: Em–G, C–G, G–D, D–A, Am–E.
Check each change when you can do it in time with the pattern player at 64 BPM.
- Em to Am and back
- C to Am and back
- G to C and back
- G to D and back
- D to D7 to G
- E to A and back
Remember
- Keep the beat; never stop strumming to fix a chord.
- Use anchor fingers, move as a block, let go early, look ahead.
- One-minute changes, a little every day.