Up to now you have probably been putting your fingers down one at a time, which is fine and it works, but there is another way too. This is a more advanced technique, but I have seen it help a number of beginner guitarists. You will probably find it quite difficult to start off with, but once you get it it will speed your chord changes a lot.

Video Lesson

Change is in the air...

The concept is pretty simple... all you try and do is form the chord in the air before you put any of your fingers down, and then put them down all at once. It is harder than it sounds (as you are sure to find out), but because all the fingers go down at the same time it can really give you a leap in your chord change speed, but...

You MUST START SLOWLY when you are learning this exercise or you might end up undoing some of your hard work getting your chords sounding nice, and you will find that your fingers go down onto the wrong strings. Just do it slowly and try and get it right. Only when you have it right should you think about speeding it up!

If you find yourself struggling you might find that it helps to put your fingers down in the reverse order to what you are used to.

Another tip is to try lift and replacing the same chord, just so you get used to what the shape looks like in the air, and also get used to putting your fingers down all at once.

When you are playing songs you might like to keep using an anchor finger if there is one available. Most chord changes do not have one, which is why we have to learn this. More often than not you have to get a whole new shape on, and that is where this exercise really comes into it's own.

It is a tricky one this, but well worth it and you'll find it really does speed up your chord changes with a bit of practice. It might well take you a month to get the feeling that you are making progress with it, but it's worth it. One of my students said he used to practice making the chords changes on his arm while on the train and that it made a huge difference, so that might be worth a try too - after all, it is really just about getting your fingers to be independent and to do different things at the same time! Fun +

Good luck ;)

OK, time to do those one minute changes now... BC-154 • 1 minute Changes

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