Changing chords in arpeggios - acoustic

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding changing chords while playing arpeggios on an acoustic guitar. I can't get it sound right.

If I play an open string at the end of the arpeggio so I have time to change the chord, it sounds weird and out of place. What's more, the open string quickly stops ringing once I form the next chord if it uses the same string as the previous chord.. so it sounds even weirder. This method works well when I fingerpick, perhaps because the sound is much softer when I use my fingers. It's louder and more pronounced when I play arpeggios with my pick so it stands out more.

Even though I'm fairly smooth in changing chords, if I try to play all strings in a chord and then quickly change to next chord, the last string sounds kind of muted because I play it while already lifting my fingers for the next chord. So it doesn't sound right either.

Am I supposed to ignore this and play the open strings at the time of changing chords and expect to become better with time as I develop more left-right hand coordination or is there some method not mentioned in the course?

Hey blazejp0 --

It sounds like this is going to come down to speed. Once you are able to quickly form chord shapes and almost simultaneously strum the next chord, this open-string ringing will become less of a problem. I suspect that's going to be the answer for you.

Eventually, there's extra muting you can do as time goes on. If you are not doing this already, you will learn to lightly touch adjacent strings with your left hand fingers (the ones you aren't fretting) so they won't ring. For example, if I am playing a basic three-finger C chord, I lightly touch the low E string with the extra flesh of my ring finger, so I can strum straight through all the strings and that low E won't ring out. (E is part of a C chord but it sounds clunky if it's the lowest note in the wrong context, and for most basic chord strumming).

I tend to do the same thing when I strum a D major chord. I automatically wrap my thumb around the neck a bit to mute that low E string. This is almost an advanced thing you naturally start to do to avoid extra strings ringing out. It's a way to be able to strum more freely.

Especially if you play with a lot of distortion, you find a lot of ways to keep strings from ringing. (Although I see you are on acoustic.)

But that type of muting is probably for later. It sounds like getting those fingers into the next chord and quickly strumming it will solve your problem. That speed increase will just come from practice.

It's good you are aware of these string ringing issues, because it means you've got a good ear for this and will eventually solve the problem!

-Carl.