Simple C to G Chord Change

B

bildio

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 26, 2012
Messages
110
Reaction score
0
Location
Havre de Grace, MD
I'm focusing on finger picking, because my left hand fingers won't cooperate. I do prefer picking to strumming though. I'm practicing changing from the C (one finger) to G (three fingers) chord. The problem is that my G chord fingers won't work as a group. I need to place them on the strings one at a time. Other than a lot of practice (I've been working on this for 3 weeks), is there a way to train these fingers? I am practicing C chord one strum, followed by G chord one strum, C chord one strum, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc. I've tried the C chord with two fingers, i.e., 3rd finger on the 3rd fret & 2nd finger on the 2nd fret, but this results in moving two fingers is one at a time.
 
If you practice putting them down one at a time that is what you will learn. You have to practice puttin them down all together like a stamp. Go as slow as you need to but your muscles retain what you repeat so you have to be conscious of what you are doing.

Alternately, you could barre the second fret (except the g string) with your index finger and fret the e string with your middle finger.
 
The G chord is the very first chord I learned. It took me weeks to get it down. It felt so unnatural. You will get your fingers trained. Practice is what will do the trick.

One of the first things I learned from my teacher was this little trick -- strum the C (or G, doesn't matter) chord. While making the change with your left hand, strum the open strings, then strum the other chord. He called it a ghost chord. Does that make sense the way I described it? Anyway, once you get the chord changes to be clean you won't need the ghost chord. The ghost chord helps to keep a "clean" sound.

You're doing fine. It takes time.
 
I' still very much a learner, what I do fornthat key change, there are several songs in my groups song book that go G C G C etc.
Whilst on the C chord place your second finger second fret on the A string, when you change chords to G pivot the third finger up to the third fret on the E string and first finger to the second fret on the C string. This keeps the second finger in place all the tine and allows the hand to pivot about that one finger that is already in place.
Does that make sense? Not sat with my uke at the moment!
As I said I'm very much a newbie, so your mileage may vary, or there may be a very good reason for not doing this!
H
 
Practice changing the chords VERY slowly, focusing on getting the rhythm as you want it. Over time, even if your fingers have to find the strings individually, they'll do it very quickly.

Also, your string action may be set too high, and that would make chord changes more slow.. You might want to see if a music store would give you their opinion on that.
 
Freeda said:
If you practice putting them down one at a time that is what you will learn. You have to practice puttin them down all together like a stamp.
Click to expand...

:agree: The desired technique is to lift all your fingers from the strings and then, as your hand moves into position for the next chord, all of your fingers move to their new positions together before you stamp them on the board. Sometimes, with really tough shapes or when done intentionally for embellishments, one or two fingers may go down early but the goal is to get them all down together most of the time.

When you first start playing, this seems impossible. The trick is to sloooowwwww doooowwwwnnn, waaaayyyyy dooooowwwwn! Practice as slowly as you have to to lift, move fingers and, if necessary, hand, and stamp in one fluid motion. At first, this will seem ridiculously slow. Eventually, though, you will find yourself able to change chords much faster than you would ever have been able to achieve the other way.

John
 
Good advice in this thread, about "stamping" and practicing slow--even it if seems crazy slow to you. Just remember that if you can't do it slow, you won't be able to do it fast. It can take a really long time get a nice, consistent, clear G chord transition. Be patient and keep at it, and some day you won't even have to think about it.
 
bildio said:
I'm focusing on finger picking, because my left hand fingers won't cooperate. I do prefer picking to strumming though. I'm practicing changing from the C (one finger) to G (three fingers) chord. The problem is that my G chord fingers won't work as a group. I need to place them on the strings one at a time. Other than a lot of practice (I've been working on this for 3 weeks), is there a way to train these fingers? I am practicing C chord one strum, followed by G chord one strum, C chord one strum, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc. I've tried the C chord with two fingers, i.e., 3rd finger on the 3rd fret & 2nd finger on the 2nd fret, but this results in moving two fingers is one at a time.
Click to expand...

what finger you using to make the C chord? I recommend transitioning with no strumming. for a little bit. Just make the chord shape, then move to the new chord shape. Do that a few times, then do the strumming transitions, but go to 4 strums. Otherwise just go with it...the more you do it the easier it will become.
I found the G chord to be one of the easiest chords but that is b/c I came from trying to learn guitar and the finger shape of a G is the same as a D shape on guitar.
 
I keep my middle finger on the 2nd fret if I am moving to a G, then you only have to move the other two fingers in place.

I wouldn't get into the habit of barring the top strings on the 2nd fret though, it's a bad habit that will make some things harder in the future, e.g. Here Comes the Sun!
 
c,to g

bildio said:
I'm focusing on finger picking, because my left hand fingers won't cooperate. I do prefer picking to strumming though. I'm practicing changing from the C (one finger) to G (three fingers) chord. The problem is that my G chord fingers won't work as a group. I need to place them on the strings one at a time. Other than a lot of practice (I've been working on this for 3 weeks), is there a way to train these fingers? I am practicing C chord one strum, followed by G chord one strum, C chord one strum, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc. I've tried the C chord with two fingers, i.e., 3rd finger on the 3rd fret & 2nd finger on the 2nd fret, but this results in moving two fingers is one at a time.
Click to expand...

hi ken here,try playing the G chord by putting 1st finger on 2nd fret over 1st 3 strings and putting 2nd finger on 2nd string 3rd fret,it is cheating, but it does work,iv played D on guitar this way for over 30 years ,and play it this way on uke,theres no wrong or right way to play ,if it works for you its right,bye,check this link,you will see me laying this chord on, here comes the sun,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upVWD74xbi0
 


Some advice from our own Aldrine.
 
Good I'm not the only one who has been challenged by the G chord. After 3 months of playing I'm still a little shy on the 'G' The "stamping" suggestion sounds fantastic, that should also help me with Em as well which I'm a little slow on.
 
bnolsen said:
Good I'm not the only one who has been challenged by the G chord. After 3 months of playing I'm still a little shy on the 'G' The "stamping" suggestion sounds fantastic, that should also help me with Em as well which I'm a little slow on.
Click to expand...

Remember that you can also play the Em by arching your pinky over your other fingers that are already holding the G shape. This is important because the G and Em chords often appear together (Em is the VI of G so it's pretty common in songs in the key of G). So, you can switch back and forth between G and Em just by lifting and dropping that pinky.

I've mentioned it several times in various threads, but I don't think it can be over-emphasized: think of a song not as a collection of chords, but as a collection of chord changes. Map in your mind how you will play those changes, and know a couple of different ways of fingering chords so you can make the changes work. That and stamping are the two best pieces of advice I've ever been giving about playing (they date from when I was starting guitar more years ago than I care to think about, but the same thing applies to uke).

John
 
OldePhart said:
Remember that you can also play the Em by arching your pinky over your other fingers that are already holding the G shape. This is important because the G and Em chords often appear together (Em is the VI of G so it's pretty common in songs in the key of G). So, you can switch back and forth between G and Em just by lifting and dropping that pinky.
Click to expand...

I've been trying to find ways to play the chords with my thumb centered on the back of the neck. However, I find it easier, as in this example, to wrap my thumb around the neck. Is it okay to switch the thumb depending on the chord(s) to be played?
 
bildio said:
I've been trying to find ways to play the chords with my thumb centered on the back of the neck. However, I find it easier, as in this example, to wrap my thumb around the neck. Is it okay to switch the thumb depending on the chord(s) to be played?
Click to expand...

I'm a firm believer in the "whatever works" camp. :) That said, as you progress you don't want to get yourself into such a rut (any rut) that you can't adapt as you encounter reasons to do so. I know that keeping my thumb behind the center of the neck is generally best, but I don't obsess over it, and as a consequence my thumb moves around a lot. When I encounter a chord change that gives me problems I try to analyze why that specific change is giving me problems and is there a better way to achieve it.

John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

AndrewHardel
Turning a Simple Chord Progression into a Beautiful Duet
Replies
1
Views
221
Bill Sheehan
Bill Sheehan
Yukio
YOU WON'T SEE ME (Thee Beatles) A simple chord melody arrangement.
Replies
14
Views
562
Bill Sheehan
Bill Sheehan
S
A simple chord melody-Always
Replies
5
Views
247
stanat20
S
R
Handy, simple chord notation!
Replies
5
Views
512
bunnyf
bunnyf
hartroc
Song Help Request Simple chord help...
Replies
3
Views
520
jamdead
jamdead
Top Bottom