When you're brand new to acoustic guitar learning,
your first set of chord shapes is super fun and exhilarating.
But the other part of learning chord shapes is being able to transition from one
shape to another.
So in this lesson I'm going to share with you some tips and tricks on how to
make chord transitions easier. And in this particular lesson,
what we're going to focus on are two types of transitions,
one in which a single finger is in common in between two chords and the other
type of transition where you're basically picking your fingers up from one cord
and completely changing them for the next. Okay,
so let's start with the easy one where a finger stays in common between both
chord shapes and the chords I'm gonna choose for.
This are going to be the g chord and the d chord.
And we're going to be changing from a g to a d and then back from a d to a g.
And even though this chord change and transition might look intimidating,
it's actually much easier once you get used to it and see that there is indeed
one finger in common.
So this is just one lesson in a series where I'll take you from zero to guitar
player in 30 days by teaching you the four super fund skills that'll get you
hooked on guitar. Before you get started,
you'll need to download the tabs course guide and 30 day checklist to get yours.
Just click on the link in the video or visit 30 days to play.com.
So let's start with a g chord.
Pinky finger on the third fret of the high e in a ring finger on the third fret
of the B index finger. Second Front of the a middle finger,
third fret of the low e. Go ahead and strum that.
Now you're going to be changing to a d chord, okay?
And the cool thing is here is that your ring finger is going to stay in position
on that third fret of the B string. So I want you to keep that ring finger down,
lift up all the other fingers, okay? It's gonna feel weird at first,
but you'll get used to it. The more you do it, the easier it'll get.
You're gonna drop your middle finger to the second fret of the high e index
finger to the second fret of the g, and that is your d chord.
So again, I'll just do this slowly. When you're on that g cord,
you're going to lift up every finger, but your ring finger,
shoot your middle finger down to the high e string index finger to the g string.
Bam, you land on your d.
And the same is true when you go from d to g, right?
You're going to keep that ring finger down,
shoot your middle finger up to that low east string,
lower your pinkie to that third fret of the high e and drop your index to the
second fret of the a string. And that's something right now.
If you want to pause this video, you can just practice over and over again,
right? Strum the G,
go ahead and change work through that transition to the d chord strum, the d.
Once you have that ring,
a nice and solid to go ahead and change that back to a g chord.
And that's one of those occurrences where you have one finger that's in common
between both chord shapes. Well,
what happens when you have to basically lift up your entire hand and switch it
to another cord? Say for example, a g chord to a c chord.
It feels a little bit disorienting,
but there's a trick that you can use that I still use to this day that helps me
out tremendously when I'm making core changes that feel like it's basically
jumping off a cliff, right? So here's what I want you to do with me right now.
Go ahead and make your g court same one we were making at the beginning of the
lesson, and then I want you to lift off your fingers.
It's going to feel a little strange,
but I want you to then slowly make a c shape.
Drop your ring finger first on the third fret of the a string,
middle finger, second fret of the d index finger. First Front of the B.
Do it in that order. Almost like a, if you push a lead domino,
think of your ring finger as that lead domino.
And then the others fall into place for a c court.
This is a technique that I like to call using an anchor finger.
Instead of feeling like you have to plot the whole chord shape down out of
nowhere,
use an anchor finger to get your bearings on where the other fingers should go.
Yes, it'll feel slow at first, but that's okay. Remember, this is a journey.
Eventually you're gonna reach a point to where you almost can plop an entire
chord shape down out of seemingly thin air. You'll get there,
but it doesn't happen immediately.
I want you to start with this anchor finger idea and then slowly work up to
placing two fingers down at the same time and then ultimately all three.
So that's that g to c transition. You strum your g cord, let it ring,
lift off those fingers, drop that anchor finger, make the c chord and strum it,
and the same thing on your way back to the g chord.
Go ahead and lift up all the, all those fingers.
I like to use my pinky finger as my anchor.
So third fret of the high e and then back to that g cord,
which brings up a really good point. You know,
just because I am suggesting that you use your ring finger as an anchor finger.
When you go to the c chord,
that doesn't mean that's the end all be all anchor finger.
Maybe you find it easier to anchor your index finger first or your middle finger
first. That's fine. I just want you to understand that concept of okay,
if I let one finger lead the way and become the anchor,
I can build the chord shape around it rather than again feeling like you have to
plop the entire core down immediately. Okay,
so you have two types of core transitions,
the one that keeps one finger or a couple fingers in common,
and the other one where you have to employ the use of an anchor finger because
your fingers completely change orientation. You're going to encounter both,
so it's really good to practice each type of transition.
And speaking of practicing transitions,
I'm going to lead you through an exercise that has you transitioning from a g
chord to a d cord,
back to a g chord than to a c chord and then back to a g chord.
And then we're going to go full on round Robin. Okay,
so you get a chance at every permutation of g, C, and d.
And here's the cool thing, once you nail these transitions,
a whole world of songs is going to open up to you. I'm not kidding you.
You will literally be able to play hundreds if not thousands of songs.
If you refine your transitions between g and C and D,
because there are many, many, many songs that include those courts.
A Bob Marley's three little birds, Johnny caches, ring of fire, the Beatles,
paperback writers, Sweet Home, Alabama. I mean classic, classic songs.
Use these three very,
very chords and the transitions you're about to work on.
So I want you to keep that in mind because that's the light at the end of the
tunnel. Yes, transitions can be difficult, but the more you work on them,
the easier they get. The easier they get,
the quicker you'll be able to play those songs.
This is just one lesson in the series where I'll take you from zero to guitar
player in 30 days by teaching you the four super fund skills that'll get you
hooked on guitar. Before you get started,
you'll need to download the tabs course guide and 30 day checklist to get yours.
Just click on the link in the description or visit 30 days to play.com.