Keeping Chord Changes Fast: Tricks and Techniques for Shaking Off Chord Progression Rust (audio not included)

ARTICLE URL: https://www.guitarchalk.com/keeping-chord-changes-fast/

Written by Bobby Kittleberger JUNE 20, 2018ed

QUICK HIT: A detailed guide about how to optimize chord changes in a

functional way to increase speed, accuracy and clean up subtle

inconsistencies.

I've found that on the guitar, even the simplest movements can be

improved over long periods of time. By this I mean that certain things,

which may feel second nature after a while, can still be improved. As we

get familiar with certain chords, patterns, progressions and shapes, we

stop noticing the nuanced and hidden mistakes that we're making. We've

done it so much that we simply gloss over chords and chord changes

because, for the most part, they sound fine.

They're acceptable.

Partly, this is because many guitar and bass players tend to move on too

quickly from introductory topics. Difficult chords, tricky changes or even

particular runs of single note patterns can get glossed over and left

unrefined over years of playing.

In this article we'll look at some examples of that and go through some

methods and exercises that will help you fix it.

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The F and C Chord Change

The C chord is one of the simplest, but do we always play it right? Flickr

Commons image via Kmeron (View Larger Image)

Let's start with something fairly easy. I'll speak from experience with a

chord change that I learned early on, but then never really perfected.

The change is simply moving from C to F and F to C.

• F Chord Guitar Diagrams

• C Chord Guitar Diagrams

What I found was that my tendency (perhaps unknowingly) was to play

through the change like this:

My original method of going from a C chord to an F chord. (View Larger

Image)

Now, this isn't necessarily wrong. However, it did create a lot of trouble

when playing it this way. Primarily, I had a hard time getting clean

chords, especially when I was trying to play through the barred F chord

shape. Inevitably, I would fumble through those last two strings (the high

E and B) without being really sure if I should attempt the full barre or

just mute them.

Also, as indicated in the tab, I had a sloppy habit of dropping out of the C

chord and playing an open E note before moving to the F chord.

This made the change messier.

It wasn't fast, smooth or intentional. It just happened when it had to. My

C to F and F to C transitions were unsophisticated. But, what could I do to

change that? First, it took some intentionality on my part, and

recognizing that this particular change was a problem area.

Let's break it down even further.

MATCHING CHORD VOICINGS

You might have noticed that I paired a rather strange version of the C

major chord with a barred version of the F chord. This was my first

mistake because these two voicings don't work particularly well

together. A much better, more functional combination of C and F voicings

would be the following:

A much more functional voicing pair where my fingers can curl in the same

shape for both chords. (View Larger Image)

These two voicings of the C and F major chords pair together much

better for a few reasons. First, they allow me to keep my fingers curled

and positioned in the same way with my ring finger anchoring the same

note for both chords.

This is a practical and helpful first step to take when you're having

trouble with a particular chord change. We're simply asking: Are we

using the most functional and optimal voicings of each chord involved?

As you might be able to tell from the tab, my fingers are curled and

positioned similarly for each chord, allowing me to minimize the

movement during the change.

The C and G Chord Change

The open G chord should be easy to move to and from. Flickr Commons

image via Kmeron(View Larger Image)

Our second example takes a closer look at the most functional way to

change from a G chord to a C chord, and vice versa. Before we start

optimizing our chord change, let's look at one of the ways I often see

these chords played together:

Two common voicings of the open G and open C chords. (View Larger

Image)

You'll notice, I've used the same C major voicing here that we used

to correct the C to F chord change. However, in this example, it's not the

most functional choice.

What's wrong with these two chords, as they're paired? While the

answer to that question is somewhat subjective, and the chords are not

technically wrong, there are a few issues I would have with playing the

change as written:

• The two voicings require different fingers to play the bass note of each chord

• Both chords incorporate a number of non-critical intervals into the pattern

• Voicings don't accommodate a fluid or smooth chord change

WHAT ARE NON-CRITICAL INTERVALS?

Every chord is made up of multiple notes where you have certain notes

that must exist in order for a particular chord to exist. In most cases, the

notes that must exist are a root note (the tonic), major or minor third

and a perfect fifth. In order to have a triadic chord, you only need those

three components. Particularly in the G chord voicing, we have multiple

notes that are not roots, thirds or fifths, thus are unnecessary to play.

MINIMIZING MOVEMENT AND INTERVALS BETWEEN THE CHORD CHANGE

This amounts to a bloated chord and overly-complex chord change. Our

task is to minimize the chords and the change first, then build up

complexity - adding less important intervals - as we're more comfortable

with the core shape and the chord change.

Here's how I would advise playing it:

Minimized versions of the G and C major chords in quarter notes. (View

Larger Image)

Whole note versions of the minimized G and C chords. (View Larger Image)

We've gone from using nearly all our fingers for each chord to using only

two, one of which stays anchored on the same note throughout. This

means you can now make the change by simply moving your middle

finger from the root G to the root C and back. Not only have we made the

physical change between the chords simpler, but the voicings have less

intervals and sound cleaner and more open.

ADDING THE OPEN D MAJOR TO THE PROGRESSION

You might have noticed that it would be incredibly easy to add the open

D major chord to this change and still keep our chord changes limited to

moving only one finger. In fact, let's switch things up and start with the D

major, then drop to the C before finishing on the G. This gives us the V, IV

and I intervals in the key of G, per the following chart:

Chords in the key of G major. Image via Guitar-Chords.org.uk (View Larger

Image)

Here's what the tab would look like in whole note chords:

D, C and G chord progression. (View Larger Image)

Notice that the D note at the third fret on the second string holds

throughout the progression, allowing you to simply change the root note

of the chord with one finger.

If you can find a common note between multiple chords, it'll often make the

change between those chords much easier. (View Larger Image)

Arpeggiated G to C Chord Change for More Clarity

To further improve or "clean up" a chord change, you can use an

arpeggiated version of that change to target one note at a time. This can

also help you understand the movement between the two chords as it

slows the process down and gives you a more focused view of what your

fingers are doing.

We'll look at this in the context of the G to C chord change, but keep in

mind it's a broad tactic that could apply to any progression.

Arpeggiated G to C chord change with open voicings and quarter notes.

(View Larger Image)

I've slowed the audio down in Guitar Pro to about 85 bpm.

For beginners, or those who are new to these chords and voicings, you

might notice that this method will draw out problem areas in your

chords in the form of buzzing notes or halfway palm-muted notes that

don't come out clearly. It's a common practice tactic for targeting and

improving those notes, which will help your chords ring more clearly

without unwanted noise or interference.

Repeat the process with the D major chord shape incorporated into the

progression:

Adding the D major arpeggio for a full chord progression in the key of G

major. (View Larger Image)

For a little more context, here's the audio, again at 85 bpm:

The E, A and B Chord Progression and Changes

In the key of E major, the I, VI and V progression is E, A and B. Like D, C

and G, it's quite common. Yet again, I've found that a lot of guitarists -

regardless of skill level - have a hard time getting these changes

optimized.

Let's take a look at some of the most common methods of playing this

progression:

Most common voicings of the E, A and B chords, shown in a whole note

progression. (View Larger Image)

Here's the audio:

Remember: In previous examples we've looked at ways to optimize the

chord changes and clean them up, primarily by making them easier to

play. Here are some of the methods we've used so far:

• Matched chords with voicings that are more functional and easier to change

between

• Reduced the amount of movement necessary between chords

• Limited our use of non-critical intervals in our chord voicings

While the E, A and B chord progression is a bit more straightforward

than the others we've looked at, we can still apply these same tactics.

Let's start by using voicings that omit the higher fretted notes for each

chord, which will give the progression a more open and sustained feel.

It's a small change, but the open E and B strings provide a lot of sustain

and connectivity in the progression, allowing you to focus on moving the

more critical intervals. (View Larger Image)

One again, we can highlight the "anchor" notes of our chord changes:

The high E and B strings, played open, help to streamline the chord

changes. (View Larger Image)

And the audio:

Let's see if we can streamline our movement a little more by

arpeggiating our chords. With this particular progression, it'll work

better if we slide up from the interval on the first fret to the second, then

to the fourth. Here's how I would play it:

Sliding up through the intervals on the fourth string helps make the chord

changes smoother and more efficient. (View Larger Image)

Here's the audio at about 90 bpm:

To isolate what we're doing even further, we can omit the roots of each

chord, focusing instead on the open E and B string coupled with the

higher intervals. This approach makes sense if we assume there's a bass

player in the background.

Let's try it with just the guitar part first:

Omitting the root notes in each chord for a brighter and cleaner

progression. (View Larger Image)

Let's add a simple bass line:

You can see how proper instrument roles can create a much smoother and

better sounding progression, especially when you're not just strumming

directly through each chord change. (View Larger Image)

I love the audio for this one. The bass line fills things out much better

than the root notes on the guitar.

If you wanted to abandon the complex arpeggio and go with straight

chords, you could play through the progression similarly, without the

root notes, like this:

Simplified, non-arpeggio version of the minified E, A and B chord

progression. (View Larger Image)

Once more, the audio:

ABOUT SLIDING AND CHORD CHANGES

Any time you have an opportunity to slide into a chord, you should take

advantage of it, since it gives you a much better chance of hitting the

correct notes and coming out with a smooth change. You can find these

by looking at opportunities for lateral fretboard movement between

your origin chord and destination chord.

• Origin Chord: First chord in a change

• Destination Chord: Second chord in a change

This works particularly well in the E, A and B progression because we're

moving up the fretboard. It allows us to change chords while leaving at

least one of our fingers on the strings.

Dealing with More Chord Complexity: F Sharp Minor Example

The F sharp minor chord is another great example of something that

I sorta learned, but never really cleaned up or perfected for a long time.

Looking back, I should have spent a lot more time with it than I initially

did. Even today, I still have trouble with changes involving this shape, if I

don't apply good technique.

First, let's look at a few different ways to play this chord shape.

To have a theoretically correct F sharp minor chord, you need to have

three notes: The root, fifth and a minor third interval.

Three necessary components for an F sharp minor chord. (View Larger

Image)

This gives us the following chord shapes:

Minimized chord shapes with an F sharp root note, fifth and minor third

interval. (View Larger Image)

I want to focus on that first diagram, which has our F sharp root

positioned at the second fret, since it's the one most frequently used

position in chord progressions. Because the minor third interval is also

positioned at the second fret, most people try to barre the full F sharp

minor chord, like this:

Barred F sharp minor chord. (View Larger Image)

While this voicing can be helpful in certain scenarios, it shouldn't be your

only option and can be extremely difficult to use when you need to

change chords quickly. A much better way to play this chord would be a

simple triad, where we used the note at the fourth fret on the fourth

string as the root.

We can put together a full F sharp minor chord without having to use a full

barred pattern. (View Larger Image)

You could also call this an inverted F sharp minor chord, which simply

means the bass note of the chord is no longer the chord's root. Since the

perfect fifth is now the root, we'd say this is the "second inversion" of the

F sharp minor chord. All you really need to know is that it's much easier

to play.

Let's try a couple progressions using this chord shape.

E, F SHARP MINOR AND B

E, F sharp minor and B progression with inverted F sharp minor chord.

(View Larger Image)

If you want to practice the pattern further, arpeggiate each chord into

quarter notes and pick through to clean things up:

Arpeggiated version of the E, F sharp minor and B chord progression,

broken up into quarter notes within each measure. (View Larger Image)

Let's look at one more chord progression example that utilizes F sharp

minor.

A, F SHARP MINOR, D AND A

The A, F sharp minor, D and A chord progression. (View Larger Image)

Again, we can arpeggiate the pattern and apply some of the sliding

technique we covered earlier.

An arpeggiated version of the A, F sharp minor, D and A chord progression.

(View Larger Image)

We can slide into the F sharp minor chord at the fourth fret, then pull off

of the same notes to begin our D chord in the third measure. The

progression resolves by going back to the open A chord.

Common Mistakes and Easy Fixes

While I often find it easier to deal with chord progressions in some kind

of context (E, A and B, or G, C and D, etc.) it can also be helpful to identify

common problems that crop up as a result of poor form, or flawed

fretboard movement that can impact all progressions. Again, these tend

to be habits that form over time and aren't overtly obvious.

They might not cause you to play the wrong chord or completely miss

notes, but they do cause impurities in your chord changes; small

mistakes and inconsistencies that aren't major enough to make you stop

what you're doing and fix the problem.

If this goes on long enough, you get used to the mistake and -

subliminally - assume it's without flaw.

This is why guitar teachers will often tell you to slow down your

movements and arpeggiate each chord to weed out problem areas, as

we've done in the above examples. We can also identify these problems

and deal with them more specifically, by making note of what we might

might hear in a chord change that is telling us there's a mechanical

problem.

• Buzzing Notes

• "Dead" space between chords (silence)

• Dead notes that aren't being played

• Unwanted scraping or pick noise

• Unwanted muted or un-muted strings

These are all problems that stem from a lack of efficiency when moving

from one chord to another. However, having identified the problem, we

can use isolated exercises that will help us target these issues and get

them out of all our chord changes, regardless of fretboard position.

Improving Lateral Fretboard Movement

There are a number of common positions that the fretboard dictates we

use - and become familiar with - when moving laterally (fret to fret). In

these exercises we want to get used to forming those positions and

moving them between frets while staying on the same string. Let's look

at the positions first. We'll work with four of the most common.

Each bar contains a simple chord shape that we'll work with in this

exercise. (View Larger Image)

These four dyads (two-note chords) all represent an extremely common

note pairing on the fretboard. In this case, their fretboard location isn't

tremendously important, since we'll be moving laterally. For the sake of

simplicity, I've started them all on the third fret. Let's start with the

shape in the first bar.

Simple power chord pattern. (View Larger Image)

Since we're working on lateral fretboard movement, let's start with a few

different changes that vary in fret length:

Since our fingers stay on the same two strings, we can slide into each

destination chord from our original third fret position. (View Larger

Image)

Here's what to focus on while making each chord change:

• Make sure your fingers don't leave the strings

• Slide upward into second chord

• Build up speed as long as you're able to maintain accuracy

Here's roughly what it should sound like at 85 bpm:

If you want to increase the difficulty, simply increase the speed. This

audio sample bumps it to 115 bpm.

Let's try a similar exercise that moves things around a little more, like an

actual power chord progression. To do this, we'll break our tab into

eighth notes and really slow down the tempo.

A more complex power chord run starting and ending at the third fret.

I've made them eighth notes just to get everything into one bar, which

means I've slowed down the tempo quite a bit in the audio sample.

This isn't complex but neither are the problems we're trying to solve.

Apply the same focus to this progression as before to see where your

transitions need cleaned up. If you're keeping fingers close to the

fretboard, sliding into chords and keeping down time in between chord

changes, it should sound pretty close to the recording.

Now, let's do the same thing for the other shapes I showed you earlier:

SECOND PATTERN

Second pattern. (View Larger Image)

Second pattern (View Larger Image)

THIRD PATTERN

Third pattern (View Larger Image)

Third pattern (View Larger Image)

FOURTH PATTERN

Fourth pattern. (View Larger Image)

Fourth pattern. (View Larger Image)

Keep in mind that there are a number of variables you can inject into

these exercises, namely the following:

• Tempo

• Starting fret

• Ending fret

• Interval spacing

Even if you just stick to the script I've outlined, you've got plenty of

opportunities to improve your accuracy and quickness while changing

common chord shapes. While the movements aren't directly applicable to

a particular progression, getting better at these lateral movements

should result in a noticeable improvement during actual "real world"

chord changes.

Improving Vertical (String-to-String) Movement

While lateral fretboard movement is fairly easy to practice, vertical

string-to-string movement can be a more nuanced discipline and is more

difficult to troubleshoot. It's also an area that's more prone to mistakes

and inaccuracies, simply because you're required to move your finger off

the fretboard and the string, then back down again. It's a seemingly small

difference, but most people have more trouble with chord changes

involving this type of movement.

That's why you often see guitar players gravitate towards uniform barre

and power chords, as it minimize the need for changing between strings.

However, it's poor practice to rely on those chord shapes all the time.

You need to tackle string-to-string movement and make sure that you're

able to handle those chord changes as well as the lateral ones. Both

methods should be accessible and usable.

ANALYZING STRING-TO-STRING CHORD CHANGES

What are some of the properties of a vertical chord change?

First, I should point out that with a lot of string-to-string changes, we're

incorporating short lateral shifts as well, usually between one and three

frets of space. For example, you might have two open chords with

different root positions.

The D to G chord change incorporates lateral and vertical movement.

(View Larger Image)

This chord also occur when shifting between two power or barre chords

with roots on different strings.

The G to D power chord change also incorporates lateral and vertical

movement. (View Larger Image)

These types of chord changes can also mean we're making a change in

the "lead finger" which is the finger playing to bass-most note of the

chord. One of the simplest examples of this is changing from a traditional

open C to G major, where the open C major has our ring finger in the bass

of chord and the G major has our middle finger in the bass of the chord.

In this version of the C to G chord change, your middle finger replaces your

ring finger in the bass of the chord. (View Larger Image)

Our task is to figure out how to practice this, similar to how we were

practicing the lateral movements. To start, lets take an exercise from the

C to G chord change we just looked at, which allows us to focus on a

change that is based on a common progression. We'll start on the third

fret, but apply the same movement at other fretboard positions as well.

Here's what the guitar tab looks like:

EXERCISE #1

Our first string-to-string fretboard exercise modeled after the C to G chord

change at the third and 10th fret positions. (View Larger Image)

Now, I've removed the high intervals from the C chord shape, which

means you could easily use your middle finger to lead that chord, then

jump to your pointer finger for the G chord power shape. Here's how I

would recommend fretting each note with the tab as-is:

Finger positioning for the shortened chord forms. (View Larger Image)

If you want to make the chord change somewhat more difficult, we could

return to the original C major chord shape, moving it up the fretboard

which would require three fingers to play the chord. This would put our

ring finger back into the bass of the chord.

A more complex variation of a chord change with the same structural

components. (View Larger Image)

This is allowing us to practice a specific chord change mechanism

without restricting ourselves to a particular progression. Again, we can

change tempo or the starting fret to develop some variety with this

particular exercise since we've come up with a movable shape that

doesn't rely on any open chords.

We can add to this progression by putting a triadic major chord at the

beginning of each bar, giving us three different chords with two string-

to-string changes to work through.

EXERCISE #2

Adding a third triadic chord shape to the beginning of the pattern. (View

Larger Image)

In the same manner, we can add a fourth triadic chord to give us some

extended complexity.

EXERCISE #3

Adding a fourth chord shape to the beginning of the pattern. (View Larger

Image)

As we did in the first couple of exercises, you'll need to take some time to

strategically place your fingers where it makes the most sense for the

chord change. As I mentioned earlier in this article, you should still be

looking for opportunities to minimize movement and keep your fingers

as close to the strings as possible.

Let's build a similar pattern, but with only power/barre chord shapes,

where your pointer finger is leading each chord.

EXERCISE #4

Triadic power/barre chord string-to-string exercise. (View Larger Image)

To this point we've been staying within the same fret, going from the

high register to the lower register. Let's do two more exercises that start

at the lower register and move up the fretboard to incorporate a little

more movement.

Moving up the fretboard. (View Larger Image)

As with all exercises that are not depending on open chords, these chord

changes can be modded and moved to different frets, giving you plenty of

variety to work with. They're mimicking the movement between

multiple power and barre chords, which will help strengthen your

response to those chord progressions when you go to play them.

Conclusion

Once you've had the opportunity to practice and understand basic

chords, it's important to continue that process by intentionally practicing

chord changes. This gives your chords a real-world context and allows

you to clean up problem areas that you won't notice from an isolated

chord or arpeggio.

Get creative with the exercises I've outlined here and use them to build

other patterns that can help you produce cleaner chord progressions.

Even using an actual chord progression as an exercise - similar to what

we did in the beginning of this lesson - can be extremely helpful when it

comes to making more efficient, cleaner chord changes.

If you need additional help, we have plenty of other chord-related

resources.

Here are couple you might find particularly helpful:

• Chord Charts and Diagrams Page (downloadable)

• The Most Common Guitar Chord Progressions

Questions

If you have questions about the content, I'd encourage you to leave them

in the comments section below. I have a much easier time answering

those directly, as opposed to email, which also allows us to expand and

improve pages like this one.