Every student guitar player wants to learn easy guitar chords but is learning technically undemanding guitar chords going to fast track your progress as a guitarist? There are chords that only need one or two fingers but using these chords for a whole repertoire of songs is going to make for a very boring experience for your audience. If you focus on which chords to learn so that you can become a real guitar player and at the same time dedicate some energy to learning HOW to play chords you will actually be turning all chords into easy guitar chords.
The essence of learning guitar chords is learning how to move from one chord to another. If you learn one chord by itself and then move onto another chord and learn that one separately, you are going to have some problems when it comes time to learn to play songs. So you learn the fingering for the open version of two or three chords to some simple song that you like and you work on changing from one chord, to the next, to the next. Play the chords in different sequences, use your metronome, play slowly without the metronome. Create challenges for yourself so that you can play your chords at any time of the day or night.
So exactly how do we learn our separate chords? Take an easy guitar chord like the G major or C major chord in the first position, and without making too much tension in your hand or arm, place you fingers where your chord chart tells you. You have all the time in the world, no need to rush, no need to screw your face up or hold your breath. The only parts of your body that should be involved in the chord are your fingers and your attention. Now strum all the guitar strings with a pick or your thumbnail.
There’s a good chance that there will be a muffled string or two when you sound your chord. Usually on your first attempt at playing even an easy guitar chord, your fingers will not be exerting enough pressure on the strings to make a clean sound Or the sides of your fingers will be brushing the strings next to them making them produce a muffled sound. Don’t react with frustration, simply adjust your fingers and try again. If you want to make guitar chords easy you will be going through this process for up to a year from now. Of course it’s not always as slow and painful as the first time but you always need to apply your attention to how you are touching the strings.
Besides learning open chords you should be learning the bar chord versions of every chord you learn. You don’t have to get too intense about it but you need to be always contributing to your knowledge of chords and the guitar fretboard. You will be surprised at how few basic bar chord shapes there are. If you want all guitar chords to be easy, you can do it, but you must get into the habit of slowing down your mind so that you can really see what your fingers are doing wrong.
Ricky Sharples
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/easy-guitar-chords-are-they-born-or-are-they-made-755871.html
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
should i be playing with a left or right handed guitar?
i write with my right hand, but i do everything with my left (hold a cricket bat, use scissors, pick up things, wear a watch on my right wrist, water the garden with my left hand, u know that kind of stuff). i was born left handed, but was made to write with my right hand, all thanx to my kindy teacher, which i really want to sue (but won’t cos thats just stupid), but since then, i’ve had ALOT of confusion, which i guess may not be the whole left/right thing, but something else. but i developed dyslexia really bad, that i cant do some stuff, like drive, and i have difficulty in other things. but anyways im learning the guitar, and i just bought a right hand one, cos apparently if im a lefty, i have more of an advantage or something, cos my left is stronger, and i’ve been practising for 6 months, and im still having some difficulty. i keep playing the wrong chords, my fingers slip, my right hand just doesn’t seem to be strumming properly. i’ve been playing piano for 15 years, and picked that up in a month (i was taught by the best though), now i play professionally, but i love the guitar & have this real genuine love for it, but it gets me so frustrated. so before i go out & either restring my guitar left hand style, or else buy another guitar incase the one i have can’t be restrung for left handed people, i need to know, do u think ill find it alot easier? i know all my chords & everything, but when playing them, my left fingers just cramp, and won’t sit where they’re suppose to, gosh piano is sooo much easier, at least all my fingers stay on their keys haha.
I am like the most of the people, right-handed. I learn it "right-handed" but using the left hand was very hard to me!
I strongly recommend you try everyday left hand for a month, if you fell more comfortable, be cool!
Also, you do not have to "buy" a new guitar, just invert the strings (using a piano it should be easy)
References :
The guitar is one of the hardest instruments to learn. Much harder than the piano to get to an intermediate level. I would persist with your guitar as your left hand being strong would be an advantage. Go into a shop if you like, and try out a left handed one to see what it feels like. I don’t think it would make much difference though. Practicing every day for at least half an hour is what will improve your playing. You might not see much progress for the first year or so, but eventually you will.
References :
It really just depends on what you comfortable with and how much you practice which by your question im sure is enough. if you know your scales then practice those a lot and i mean a lot. like go through each one around 5 or more times every day for like half an hour or more every day. That will help strengthen your left hand a lot and do alternating picking to strengthen your right hand.
And if your just not comfortable playing with your right hand then go the guitar store and try a left handed one. if you like that better and feel more comfortable with then im sure they’ll let you trade in your right handed guitar for money towards the left handed one.
References :
what feels – RIGHT to you?
i am right handed and play orr chord with my left hand strum with the right….
if you tap along to a song what hand do you use?
thats the one to strum with – the mosty rhythm?
References :
player of 25 years