General Chord Work

[Greegzoid]

Hi everybody!

Last year or so been stuck on how to learn to play guitar and not had as much time as I would have hoped so my efforts have just been random riffs and such. Finally at the stage were I am in the right frame of mind to learn and have time to do so. One thing I never got round to was trying to practice basic chords (being really fast and rapid always seemed cooler). I know of the basic chords, but what would be the best way to put them into practice and increase chord strength and change time?

Thanks for your time!

 

[djyngwie]

How basic are we talking?

 

[Greegzoid]

Like open chords that people first learn, i know them just cant grasp the changes and progressions which I need for a good foundation. No point in doing fancy stretches and jazzy chords if i cant get the simple ones right.

 

[Mr. Big Noodles]

The best way is to play them. Pick up one of those songbooks published by Warner Brothers Music or the ilk, and jam along to a recording. Classic rock is good because it's fairly easy stuff and uses those kinds of chords. I'm talking about this kind of book. I've got that one, and it's all very decent: it's written as piano and vocal, so there is actual notation, and the guitar part is indicated as a chord symbol with a cute little fretboard beneath it in case you can't remember where C is. I suppose you could go with online tabs of a similar nature, but looking at a book instead of a screen makes the learning and practice experience a little more special, I feel.

 

[Greegzoid]

Thanks for the reply! I'll try the songbook approach see where I can go from there, also i appreciate a legit answer, was half expecting shit for the posts.

 

[Mr. Big Noodles]

No problem. We all have our deficiencies. Fortunately, yours is easy to remedy.

 

[Solodini]

Added to that, changing one note within the chord can be good, so you need to change your grip of the chord. Move one note up one fret (if it sounds crappy, choose another note!) and mess around until you find a comfortable grip. Move another note down a fret or two. Practise moving between those 3 grips.

You may start to hear a melody developing out of that. Follow it and see what your hands need to do to fulfill that while holding the other notes.

 

[Greegzoid]

Been messing around today, G chord is causing some issue. managing to get it sounding out but my wrist is contorting quite a bit to achieve that shape!

 

[Solodini]

Big cowboy G? How are you fingering it? Which fingers are struggling, causing you to contort?

 

[Greegzoid]

Yeah the big G! Trying to get clearance on the 4th string while fingering the 5th is a prob but I can see an issue trying to finger the G on the 1st string. As for the shape, using 2nd finger on low e, 1st on the A and 3rd on the high E.

 

[Solodini]

Try your pinky on the high E. That may change the angle of your hand and make it a give it a bit more clearance.

 

[Given To Fly]

Yeah the big G! Trying to get clearance on the 4th string while fingering the 5th is a prob but I can see an issue trying to finger the G on the 1st string. As for the shape, using 2nd finger on low e, 1st on the A and 3rd on the high E.

Use the tips of your fingers. You'll know where the tips are because they have the highest concentration of nerve endings. Playing with the pads of your fingers usually affects adjacent strings. I encourage you to get the proper clearance over the 4th string! Then I encourage to decide whether it really matters in an open position G chord.