The ability to play a guitar smoothly is one of the most rewarding skills you can master. Unfortunately, it isn’t as straightforward a skill to learn as you might hope. Learning to play a song with all the numerous chords and the multiple chord changes will take some time. You need to be prepared to work hard and use a systematic approach to learning chord progression well. But don’t worry! The following tips can help you boost your chord changing abilities and improve your overall guitar playing skills.

Focus on the Correct Form

First, it is essential to spend some time learning the correct form of holding the guitar as well as your fingers while you play. The Internet is full of great chord sheets that will help you capture the finger position for each chord. You should definitely check out the For Dummies series, which showcases the most common chords you’ll use when playing the guitar.

Consider spending some time at first just slowly learning each chord individually, before you even start worrying about changing from one chord to another. The key is to make the right kind of sound when playing each individual chord. If you learn to play the chords wrong right from the start, it’s going to be harder to correct it later on.

Look for ‘Connector Points’

If you’ve been playing the guitar for a while, you have probably noticed how similar some of the chords are. A clever way to improve your ability to change from one chord to another is by finding these ‘connector points’. For example, when you are playing the chord Em and the chord G after one another, you can keep your first finger on the same string during the change. The finger that doesn’t move is often referred to as the pivotal finger.

Another example is the chord change from A7 to C, where you are able to maintain the same position with your second finger. There are tons of examples like this for you to discover.

Look at the different chords and find these different connections. Once you have a few pairings, you can start practicing with them. Start playing the change a little bit faster each time.

Paste Magazine provides a list of great beginner songs for you to try out. You can listen to the songs, as well as find the chords, so perfecting the song won’t be too difficult. Start practicing with a few songs at first and remain focused even if you feel like giving up.

Rinse And Repeat

The key to mastering guitar skills is all about repetition. Don’t worry too much about being able to play a number of different songs right from the get-go. As mentioned above, pick a few songs and focus on finding the ‘connector’ points within songs. This will help you get faster as you play and therefore become better at playing the guitar.

You should also check out our blog for other great beginner tips. There is plenty of information available there from picking the right guitar to understanding different play styles. Learning to play the guitar well is going to be a journey that takes some time, but it will be worth it in the end!