How do Guitarists remember chords?
Remembering chords and memorizing them can be intimidating and a daunting task for a guitarist who is just starting out. It is so, because of the alienated shapes and position of the chords. The open chords are easy to learn and remember but when it comes to the barre and other exotic chords, it can seem little difficult. But how do other guitarists remember it so easily?
Well, In this post I am going to show you, how they are able to do it so easily. When I started learning guitar back in my college days, I too had to go through this scary phase. Everyone goes through this as it is a part of the learning game. So, let’s take a look at the method that guitarists use to remember chords easily.
How Do Guitarists Remember Chords?
To give you a clear and simple answer, guitarists remember chords by playing and practicing it over and over again. When learning a new chord they first remember the finger placement of the chord and later they practice it until they master it. It is not that hard but not that simple either. As they practice it for a longer time, their finger muscles memorizes it, and after a certain duration, they don’t even look at the chords while playing. That’s the secret and the best approach one can adopt to learn,remember and master guitar chords.
How Do I Remember Chords?
I pretty much use the above method to remember chords. First I select a chord or a chord progression that I want to master and then I just play it over and over again until my muscle memory completely records it.
The main obstacle that I face while practicing a new chord progression is switching between the chords in time but I overcome it with a unique method that I am going to show you.
Let’s say you want to master a chord progression that has 4 chords, then just start by memorizing all the four chords by practicing each chord individually.
In the next step, try to play the whole chord progression rhythmically using a metronome. Make sure, not to switch to the second chord until and unless you feel comfortable and just keep on playing the first chord.
As soon as you feel comfortable to switch, simply jump on to the next chord but it should be in time. At first, you may feel uneasy and that can be frustrating but trust me, with time and some efforts you can achieve it.
This method works for me to memorize and switch between chords and I hope it will work for you as well. Give it a try.
Tips To Remember Guitar Chords easily
There are no tricks and short cuts to remember and master guitar chords, all that is needed is some practice, time, and patience. Below are some highlighted tips that you can follow to remember guitar chords easily. These tips are based on my personal experience and I am sure that it will work for you.
- Learn, how to read guitar chords ( which is very easy ) – Before starting to learn chords, take some time out for learning how to read guitar chords, it won’t take more than 30 minutes to completely understand how the chord diagram works. In simple words, the lines represent the strings and the dots represent the finger placements in a chord diagram.
- Pick and select the chords that you want to memorize – This is the next step, where you have to choose the chords that you want to practice, remember and master it completely. If you are just starting out then it is highly recommended to learn the basic open chords first.
- Remember the finger placements of the chords – After you are done with selecting the chords, go through its diagram and memorize all the finger placements that required to hold the chord.
- Start practicing – Now that you have chosen the chords and memorized its finger placement, simply start practicing by holding the chord, and picking or strumming all the strings. While doing so, make sure that all the strings ring out clearly and is not muted.
