Fast Chord Changing Lessons

I've been getting bombarded with online guitar lesson sales pitches. One in particuliar is from a guy named Taylor Dean Barnett. His thing is that he can teach you to change chords fast and acurately in something like 7 days. Just curious if anyone has purchased his Muscle Memory Building Blocks and don't mind sharing his "secret". I always thought the best way to learn chord changes was practice, practice, practrice and even more practice!

Originally Posted by: snpfarmI always thought the best way to learn chord changes was practice, practice, practrice and even more practice!

Yes, the only way to gain & maintain skill at the guitar is to practice. You can find ways to practice "harder" or "smarter".

I have not seen or heard of that course. If a new product or method helps you or motivates you to practice more, or better, or smarter, that's great!

But there is no substitute for hours logged on the machine. Keep practicing. :)

Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegel

Originally Posted by: snpfarmI always thought the best way to learn chord changes was practice, practice, practrice and even more practice!

Yes, the only way to gain & maintain skill at the guitar is to practice. You can find ways to practice "harder" or "smarter".

I have not seen or heard of that course. If a new product or method helps you or motivates you to practice more, or better, or smarter, that's great!

But there is no substitute for hours logged on the machine. Keep practicing. :)

Yep!! However, I'm all for someone showing me a better way to practice that will help me learn to be better.

I agree totally with Christopher. You gotta practice everyday. On getting faster with chord changing for me, was to learn where chords are on each root string. Probably didn't word that right but you can pick up an F going from a C quickly using 4th string root F coming off the 5th string root C. Tricks like that have been my best friend along with practicing up a storm

Originally Posted by: W3

I agree totally with Christopher. You gotta practice everyday. On getting faster with chord changing for me, was to learn where chords are on each root string. Probably didn't word that right but you can pick up an F going from a C quickly using 4th string root F coming off the 5th string root C. Tricks like that have been my best friend along with practicing up a storm

Not sure if it would work for everyone but what helped me was a practice routine that I read about a while back. I'd make a G-chord and strum it, completly remove my hand and touch my knee or thigh. I'd do this 20-30 times per chord. Then repeat using another chord. I guess it was meant to be a mucsle memeroy building exercise.

Originally Posted by: snpfarm

Yep!! However, I'm all for someone showing me a better way to practice that will help me learn to be better.

You piqued my interest, and since I had some time, I took a look. I grabbed the "free" download (nothing is really free - I had to provide my email address) which discusses building muscle memory. The core of the technique is a structured approach to practicing chord changes at a slowly increasing tempo.

Using a metronome, practice changing from Em to A and back with each chord played as a whole note. Start at 60 BPM; gradually increase the tempo until you are playing at 120 BPM, always with each chord as a whole note. Then on to a different chord pair.

I doesn't seem like terrible advice, but it doesn't seem revolutionary, either? And I can see it getting fairly monotonous after a while. Still - always useful to have a new tool in the box. The metronome app on GuitarTricks thoughtfully includes a speed trial setting that might be a useful way to practice this.

=K

Originally Posted by: martiniconqueso

Originally Posted by: snpfarm

Yep!! However, I'm all for someone showing me a better way to practice that will help me learn to be better.

Using a metronome, practice changing from Em to A and back with each chord played as a whole note. Start at 60 BPM; gradually increase the tempo until you are playing at 120 BPM, always with each chord as a whole note. Then on to a different chord pair.

=K

Until joining Guitar Tricks I've been100% self taught. So at the risk of probably sounding really stupid, what is meant by each chord played as a WHOLE NOTE ... strumming the entire chord???

Originally Posted by: snpfarmwhat is meant by each chord played as a WHOLE NOTE ... strumming the entire chord???

Whole note is a time value identifying rhythm value. A whole note lasts for all the beats of a measure. It indicates to let the note or chord to ring for "the whole" measure.

All the chords in this lesson are played as whole notes.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=11091&s_id=442

This tutorial covers rhythmic values & subdivisions, which is part of reading music notation.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=10272

Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegel

Originally Posted by: snpfarmwhat is meant by each chord played as a WHOLE NOTE ... strumming the entire chord???

Whole note is a time value identifying rhythm value. A whole note lasts for all the beats of a measure. It indicates to let the note or chord to ring for "the whole" measure.

LOL!! Well I risked it and sounded stupid. I'm familiar time/rhythm value. I read to much into it...I couldnt see how that would benefit or help learn to change chords faster and smoother. Thank you Christopher for always being there to answer our questions....even my dumb ones

Originally Posted by: snpfarm

Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegel

Originally Posted by: snpfarmwhat is meant by each chord played as a WHOLE NOTE ... strumming the entire chord???

Whole note is a time value identifying rhythm value. A whole note lasts for all the beats of a measure. It indicates to let the note or chord to ring for "the whole" measure.

LOL!! Well I risked it and sounded stupid. I'm familiar time/rhythm value. I read to much into it...I couldnt see how that would benefit or help learn to change chords faster and smoother. Thank you Christopher for always being there to answer our questions....even my dumb ones

On that topic, per this guy's suggestions, once you are smoothly changing chords at 120 BPM, with each as a whole note, you dial the metronome back down to 60 BPM and repeat the exercise, this time playing each chord as a half note - so on the 1st/3rd beat. Once you are making those changes smoothly at 120 BPM, you dial it back down to 60 BPM and repeat again playing each chord as quarter notes.

I don't see anything magic about the approach, but it's is certainly a very structured technique for repetitive practice on specific chord changes.