By: edguitar.com
For most beginners, changing chords efficiently can be the hardest challenge. It is one of those barriers that you will have to overcome to be able to strum along to your favorite songs. In this short article, I would like to share a simple trick that you can use to make your chord changes sounds smooth and efficient.
The trick is to use the open strings to our advantage by playing it right before changing chords. Here’s an example on how to do this:
Consider a very basic 'four to the bar' strumming pattern with 4 strum per chord.
|Em |C |G |D |
1_2_3_4_1_2_3_4_1_2_3_4_1_2_3_4_
P_P_P_O_…etc
P = Press down
O = Open
We would keep our fingers down on the strings for the first three strums on the ‘Em’ chord, and lift it up on the fourth strum before changing to the ‘C’ chord. Simply repeat the same process when changing to the ‘G’ and ‘D’ chord.
Here's another example with the open strings played on the '&' of the 4th beat.
Eight Note strum pattern:
|Em |C |G |D |
1_&_2_&_3_&_4_&_1_&_2_&_3_&_4_&_1_&_2_&_3_&_4_&_1_&_2_&_3_&_4_&_
P_P_P_P_P_P_P_O…etc
P = Press down
O = Open
By playing the open strings on every last moment before changing chord as in the examples above, we are giving our fingers enough time to form the next chord that’s coming. The open strings also provide the cover to fill in the gap for the brief moment that we let go of the chord, and the result is a smoother transition between chords.
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For most beginners, changing chords efficiently can be the hardest challenge. It is one of those barriers that you will have to overcome to be able to strum along to your favorite songs. In this short article, I would like to share a simple trick that you can use to make your chord changes sounds smooth and efficient.
The trick is to use the open strings to our advantage by playing it right before changing chords. Here’s an example on how to do this:
Consider a very basic 'four to the bar' strumming pattern with 4 strum per chord.
|Em |C |G |D |
1_2_3_4_1_2_3_4_1_2_3_4_1_2_3_4_
P_P_P_O_…etc
P = Press down
O = Open
We would keep our fingers down on the strings for the first three strums on the ‘Em’ chord, and lift it up on the fourth strum before changing to the ‘C’ chord. Simply repeat the same process when changing to the ‘G’ and ‘D’ chord.
Here's another example with the open strings played on the '&' of the 4th beat.
Eight Note strum pattern:
|Em |C |G |D |
1_&_2_&_3_&_4_&_1_&_2_&_3_&_4_&_1_&_2_&_3_&_4_&_1_&_2_&_3_&_4_&_
P_P_P_P_P_P_P_O…etc
P = Press down
O = Open
By playing the open strings on every last moment before changing chord as in the examples above, we are giving our fingers enough time to form the next chord that’s coming. The open strings also provide the cover to fill in the gap for the brief moment that we let go of the chord, and the result is a smoother transition between chords.
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