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I think we all can agree that we've gone through this phase in our guitar lives.  Changing chords proficiently takes time and require practice.  I do agree with everyone here, that practiciing with major chords using the first three frets will provide a good foundation into other more complex chords. 

I also agree that practicing at least 30 minutes every day will help create the muscle memory and coordination one needs to be proficient.

Kahuna

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>joeyslowfingers wrote on Mon, 04 September 2006 13&#58;49</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
this is all so true, ive been at it for ten months now and its all about practice and practice and more practice.

  my improvements have been slow and sometimes ive wandered if i will ever get anywhere <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_eek.gif" border=0 alt="Shocked"> .

  just keep practicing and it will come

try a,d,e then mabey g,c,d  or pick a song you like and find the chords for it and play them till your changing those chords resonably well  and that will give you the confidence to keep going.

and always warm up with some simple fingerings up and down the fret board, boring as hell but it builds stregnth and gets the fingers moving better.

try learning all the notes on the fretboard and run through them one string at a time saying the notes  as you go, handy stuff to know and as you progress you will be glad you learned this <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_razz.gif" border=0 alt="Razz">

  hope this helps
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Jeff,

Although I'm pretty proficient with chords, I'm still wanting to learn and understand more about the fret board.   More in the areas of how to read the dots, working the higher frets, etc.  I have some books on this, but they don't really get too indepth.  It would be nice to see more on this subject.  Of course it's just my personal learning curve, so I'm trying to understand more.

Thanks,

Kahuna

The first string is always the thinnest, most bottom string or high E string.  The 6th is also a E string, but called a low E. 

About your second question, once your index finger covers the first and second strings, the other fingers are placed as follow:

3rd string - Middle finger (2nd fret)

4th string - Ring finger or Pinky finger (3rd fret)

(Note: use a pinky to hold the 4th string if you plan to hold the 5th string)

5th string - Ring finger (3rd fret). This string is optional.  You can still play this chord with the first four strings.

You can also checkout this chord in the chord chart under the resources tab on the Chordie.com main page. 

Have fun playing!

Kahuna

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>krames11 wrote on Mon, 28 August 2006 23&#58;39</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
yeah i hold it with barring the first fret and holding the rest like an E

but i think i might be trying the second way....but two question.....are you saying first string as the biggest string or the smallest?  and two....which fret would your 3rd, 4th, and 5th fingers be on?

thanks for the advice (seeing as i just started guitar this year)
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You might want to tell us how you are holding the chord now! 

There are two ways to hold the F chord.  One, is to barre all strings at the first fret with your index finger, then hold the remaining stings like an E chord.

The second way is to hold both the 1st and 2nd strings at the first fret with your index finger.  Then, hold the 3rd, 4th, and 5th stings with your remaining fingers. 

Note: some folks do leave the 5th string open and play only the first four strings. 

For me, I use both methods, whichever is easier for me to transition to the next chord.  Bottomline is practice, practice and practice!

Good luck!

Ant,

Is there a section on this site that explain the notes similar to what you have below?  I can play chords, but never learned the notes placement.  Thanks for your feedback nonetheless.

Kahuna

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>aw32 wrote on Thu, 24 August 2006 22&#58;10</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Hi Spaminator,

I think the chord you have there is actually G7 as opposed to Gmaj7.  All 7th chords have a flattened 7th which, in the case of G7, would be an F. Maj7 chords, such as Gmaj7, have an unaltered 7th (which would be F# from the G major scale).  The notes of 353433 are G, D, F, B, D, and G so I make it G7.

I am prepared to be corrected on this, but i'm pretty sure that's the way it works.  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

cheers

Ant
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Thanks Ken!  Yes, I think I'm going to give my playing a small rest and see if things improve.  Regarding holding the neck, I know that my thumb should not be above the top of the neck.  But, once in a while, it creeps up, where my left palm is squeezing the neck slightly. 

I have to do this (sometimes) in order to hold barre chords.  I'm not really a beginner, but maybe that turned me into a fanatic.  Playing two hours a day.  I guess a break is needed.

Thanks,

Kahuna.

I would love to try it, but I don't have Comcast  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_confused.gif" border=0 alt="Confused">  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_mad.gif" border=0 alt="Mad">

I have DirecTV, so I'm not sure if they have such a thing.

Peace!

Kahuna

I never thought about Guns & Roses.  Will need to give that a try.

Thanks

Kahuna

Thanks James!  I will give this a try as well.  I'm finally getting comfortable strumming a song by U2.  The song "One" is a cool song to strum, as it's pretty consistent rhythm throughout.

thanks!