choppy chords

[Dean Andrew]

my playing was recently described as choppy on the chords.

can anyone recommend an exercise routine to help play the chord and progression smoother

[GnLguy]

HI Dean

My only suggestion is to practice practice practice. We’ve all been there and all of us could be better than we are. Rhythm is by far the most important thing to develop b/c without great timing, everything else will sound bad

Take simple chord progression and count while you’re playing, playing slowing at first; its awkward at first but it will pay dividends. Simple 3 chord progression, beginning with keys that you know best, playing open position chords.
Once you get more accomplished, use a metronome, you can find apps online for free download

There are tons of videos on You Tube that will help, here are 3 that I found. I would suggest searching for the channel JustinGuitar – Justin Sandercoe has a lot of great information that will help you

In short, the only way to get better is to practice. Find videos that gives you the common chord progressions found in music and work on those .You will find that there are numerous songs that uses the same basic chord progression,

Start with simple progression and work patiently

Keith
aka GnLguy

[Dean Andrew]

Thanks Keith,
I’ve watched a few videos of JustinGuitar. I like his approach. I’ll did deeper into some of his lessons.
And thanks for the video suggestions. Most defiantly will check out.

I might be at a plateau again, just going through the motions. Gotta put more of my heart into it going foward.

[GnLguy]

Its easy yo get into a rut and harder to force ourselves out of that same rut.

I hear so called guitar teachers make statements online that a new player must practice at least 10 minutes everyday.
The only thing that will get the student is a giant case of frustration! In the beginning of our guitar journey, it takes dedicated practice to get our hands to cooperate with chord shapes, smooth rhythm chops and the ability to phrase.

2-3 sessions per day of 30-45 minutes will allow students to progress without getting overly frustrated.

Feel free to reach out anytime that you need help. You won’t find a better forum to help you learn

Keith
aka GnLguy

[Dean Andrew]

Great Videos Keith. Thanks again

[sunjamr]

Here’s a great way to practice chords and rhythm: Buy a ukulele, and leave it lying around your living room. Anytime you pass by it, grab it and strum a quick song. Best to buy a baritone uke, because it’s tuned same as the top 4 strings of a guitar. Try it, and you’ll be amazed at the results.

Sunjamr Steve

[John H]

Play a lot of rhythm…. for yourself and others. There is no shame in it. There are bundles of rhythm lessons on Brian’s site. Grab a few of them and get to work! Play along with backing tracks. Grab lessons that feature both rhythm and lead. Share your progress (audio or video) on the Forum. Make it fun!

JH

[GnLguy]

Along the lines of what John H said, record yourself for you
Listen to your progress, see where you need to improve and note it in a journal

90%of what we play is rhythm so it’s vastly important to be as good as possible

There is a saying among jazz players tha the hot lead player will be in the audience watching the gig while hot rhythm player will be on stage playing the gig

Same is true in all genres. Bad rhythm player will wreck a live performance is a short amount of time

[Author]

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