HOW TO PLAY CHORD CHANGES FAST
Don't try to play a long sequence of chords over and over again and hope you get better...
If you do get better, it will take a very long time...
Intead, try these techniques that will make you better , faster...
I recently appeared on a YouTube livestream with my friend Diana de Cabarrus from songwritinglessonsonline.com. A question was asked about playing chord changes rapidly, how to practice them, get better at them, and become more efficient at them. It was a great question, and the following is what we had to say about this topic.
Diana recalled that she once played in a 15-piece swing orchestra. They played mainly 40s music with many very fast chord changes. She remembered spending a week one Easter holed up and getting it all down.
Diana said the first piece of advice she would give is to identify the most critical chord changes. Some chord changes will be more important than others. They are the ones who hold up the music and are the most essential as if they might be the pillars. If we don't have them in place, all the walls of the song might collapse. Therefore, identify the most important chord changes first and make sure they are consistent. Then, add the other chord changes.
I then commented that slowing it down is big. First, slow it down and play it in smaller pieces. Don't play a chord progression sloppy a thousand times, and I hope you will get better because you're not. It will take way too long to do it that way. You must parse it into smaller chunks, slow it down, and learn one little section at a time. Then, whatever those chord changes might be, you should be able to execute them in the correct order, and they should be played well. Then, learn the next group of chords. Work on that in isolation. Once you have that little handful of chords down, start from the beginning. Play what you learned first, then add what you just worked on. Keep doing this over and over.
If you have trouble going from one group of chords to the next group of chords, you need to fix it. You don't need to play the two entire parts. If the problem is switching from the last and first chords of the groups you leaned, you only need to isolate them, iron out the wrinkles, and reintegrate them into the larger piece. That is the fastest way to learn complex pieces, and that works for me.
Remember to always have fun with your guitar and I’ll see you next time…
If you are looking to learn another excellent rhythm guitar skill, you can check out my FREE lesson on how to weave lead guitar melody lines to your rhythm guitar playing here: https://rhythmguitarlessons.net/Pro
Have you ever heard extra notes played between chords and wondered, "Why do THESE notes sound good?" or, "How can I do that?".
Most guitar players struggle to find the right notes to play between chords to make their songs sound better.
The fact is, it's easy to do once you learn how. And the result is your guitar playing sounds much more complex than it is...
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About Mark Turko: Mark Turko is a professional guitar player and instructor with over 30 years of experience and teaches guitar lessons online.