This one's about a very specific change, C to D. But what you learn from it applies to pretty much all your chord changes. If you can use the same idea on other changes, including the harder ones, you might find they get a lot smoother and a lot faster.
Why C to D feels awkward ▶ 0:35
Look at these two chords and you might think they don't share anything. There's no finger or string in common, and every finger has to move at least a bit to get from C to D and back again.
Compare that with A minor to C. Those two already share two notes, and you only have to move the third finger to get from one to the other. C to D doesn't give you that. Or at least, it doesn't look like it does.
The shape C and D have in common ▶ 0:59
Take your C chord and lift off your first finger. Now look at the second and third fingers. Your third finger is on the 3rd fret of the A string and your second finger is on the 2nd fret of the D string. They're one fret and one string apart, sitting diagonally across from each other.
Now look at the D chord. The third finger is on the 3rd fret of the B string and the second finger is on the 2nd fret of the high e string. It's exactly the same arrangement, one fret and one string apart, just three strings further down.
So you can lock those two fingers together and pull them across the strings, one string at a time, until they're on the B and high e strings. Then your first finger comes back over onto the 2nd fret of the G string, and you've got a D chord.
To get back to C, do the opposite. Take the first finger off, move the locked pair back up three sets of strings to the A and D strings, and put the first finger back on the 1st fret of the B string.
Move the fingers together, not one by one ▶ 1:39
Watch most people do a C to D change and they'll put the fingers down one at a time: first, second, third for C, then first, second, third for D. That's inherently slower than putting them all down together.
Ideally you do put all the fingers down together. But if you watch how I do the change, the way they move matters too. The second and third fingers drop down across the strings and the first finger comes across at the same time. I'm not lifting everything off, placing the first finger and then putting the others down. It's more of a pivot, with the first finger travelling while the pair slides.
Keep a closed hand position ▶ 2:23
That pivot is quite hard to coordinate. It gets easier if you keep the idea of a closed hand position in mind.
As I do the change, my first, second and third fingers never lose contact with each other. Even the little finger tags along. So when you practise it, don't let any finger lose contact with the one next to it. The hand moves as one unit instead of splitting apart and rebuilding the chord from scratch.
The same idea on C to G ▶ 2:47
You can do this with other changes too. C to G is a good example. Again, you might think they've got nothing in common, and they are a bit further apart than C and D. But there's still something to latch onto.
Take your C chord and lift off the third finger. You've got your first finger on the 1st fret of the B string and your second finger on the 2nd fret of the D string. That's the same kind of arrangement your first and second fingers have at the top of the G chord, where the second finger is on the 3rd fret of the low E string and the first finger is on the 2nd fret of the A string.
The difference is that on the C chord there's a string between them (the G string), whereas on the G chord they're on neighbouring strings. So it isn't a perfect match, but it reminds you that you don't need to pull the hand apart and reform the chord entirely.
From C, bring the first and second fingers up towards the low strings, keeping their shape. Then the third finger and little finger drop down onto the B and high e strings for the G. Ideally that's all one smooth motion. Then do the opposite to get back to C.
Look for shared shapes in your own changes ▶ 3:43
Go through the chord changes you play most and see if you can spot anything they have in common, the way C and D share that diagonal pair. Then practise moving that shared bit as one unit, with your fingers staying in contact. If you're not sure of a shape, the Chord Finder will show you the fingerings so you can compare them.
Start with C to D, slowly, sliding the pair rather than placing fingers one at a time, then have a go at C to G.
