Introduction

Many guitarists become frustrated during the early stages of their studies. Unlike a drum or a piano, learning how to control the timbre of a string instrument is a challenge that results in an initial steep learning curve. When you walk up to a piano for the first time and strike a key, it sounds like a piano. Guitar, on the other hand, can sound more like the thud of a beautiful songbird flying into a sliding glass door. The potential is there. It just needs to dust itself off and make some corrections.

Just to be clear, I’m not to saying that piano and drums are not challenging. In fact, piano and percussion music is often much more complex than that of other instruments. But, because the beginning student can make acceptable sounds so early in their studies, it can be easier to develop bad habits and unsuitable technique, resulting not only in poor musicianship, but even injuries later in life. The upside to the guitar’s initial difficultly is that it demands at least something that is close to proper technique to create an acceptable sound. However, developing technique does require patience and self-awareness. And guitarists are definitely not immune to unhealthy habits and technique.

It takes a lot of experience for a new player to become proficient enough to make a guitar sound pleasing to the ear. Most of the experience comes from experimenting with what it physically feels like to play: how the fingers are angled, which parts of the fingers touch the strings, how much pressure to apply, and so on.

These are things that instructors can help you explore, but can never actually teach you in full. For example, I could try to explain to my daughter what a sore throat feels like, but until she actually experiences a sore throat, she won’t really know what one feels like. The same goes for what correctly fretting a string feels like.

In the spirit of addressing challenges, this week I have decided to post a specific exercise rather than a broad theory on practice and instruction. Although the article is centered on the beginning guitarist, aspiring pianists can also use the same techniques, as can advanced guitarists who may be learning complicated new voicings, chord melodies, and inversions.

Lesson Overview

Because one of the first hurdles for a beginner is learning how to play chords, this particular lesson is one of my most frequently taught. Some of the most common problems that can arise when learning how to play guitar include dead notes (that toneless plunk! sound), poor memorization, and lack of adequate speed. To tackle some of these issues, the following exercises can speed up the process of learning chords.

This lesson is broken into four exercises. Each exercise is more demanding than the previous, but if practiced correctly, should be only slightly more challenging. Students should not move onto the next exercise until the exercise that they are on is played with ease. Please note: The lesson overview section is for reference only. Don’t try to attempt the following examples. The lesson is broken down in the following sections and demonstration videos will show exactly how each of these exercises work.

Our goal is to shorten the amount of time it takes to get from one chord to another. Using a metronome set at a comfortable tempo, you will strum the first chord (G Major) on beat one, then use beats two, three, and four to switch to the second chord (D Major). You can use the same approach to return back to the G Major chord and repeat.

1 (Strum the G chord)

2 (Switching…)

3 (…Switching)

4 (…Switching)

1 (Strum the D chord)

2 (Switching…)

3 (…Switching)

4 (…Switching)

1 (Strum the G chord)

And so on…

In the second exercise, strum on beats one and two, leaving only two beats to switch (beats three and four).

1 (Strum the G chord)

2 (Strum the G chord)

3 (Switching…)

4 (…Switching)

1 (Strum the D chord)

2 (Strum the D chord)

And so on…

The third exercise leaves only one beat to switch.

1 (Strum the G chord)

2 (Strum the G chord)

3 (Strum the G chord)

4 (Switch)

1 (Strum the D chord)

2 (Strum the D chord)

2 (Strum the D chord)

And so on…

The fourth exercise requires that you switch chords between beats four and one.

1 (Strum the G chord)

2 (Strum the G chord)

3 (Strum the G chord)

4 (Strum the G chord) SWITCH!

1 (Strum the D chord)

2 (Strum the D chord)

3 (Strum the D chord)

4 (Strum the D chord) SWITCH!

And so on…

While this lesson almost seems too simple to be effective, it works very well as long as patience is also practiced. There are number of good habits that are being rehearsed:

#1 Preparation: Many students wait until the next chord needs to be played before they begin moving their fingers. These exercises train you to always be prepared for the next chord before you need to play it.

#2 Independence between the hands: Beginners tend to have a hard time moving their strumming hand while moving their fretting hand. Because the amount of time for switching decreases with each exercise, the gap between the two movements is reduced. This will make specific hurdles in the near-future less intimidating.

#3 The use of ears: Musicians can become so focused on the physical aspects of playing that they forget to pay attention to the sounds they are making, let alone the other musicians around them. One of the most important reasons to use a metronome is to develop the ability to allocate part of your attention on external musical stimuli–even the music you are creating yourself. Not only will you be able to hear the music your are creating with more clarity, allowing you evaluate your own playing with more accuracy, but even more importantly you will be able to fully enjoy the music you are creating rather than burying your head in the physical aspects of performing.

I really want to stress the importance of using a metronome and keeping a strong, consistent beat. Without timing, muscle memory doesn’t exist. And without effortless, smooth movements, muscle memory is only a hinderance. Therefore, it’s important to pick a beat that demands you improve just slightly beyond your current skill level but at the same time allows you to develop an effortless approach to playing.