G, C and D chord changes: a beginner exercise
G, C and D, the three chords of folk, country and early rock, changing every two beats instead of every bar, with a down, down-up strum on each. Changing fast, without a gap, is the skill most new players struggle with longest, and the only cure is changing many times in time. Two beats per chord gives the fretting hand no time to dawdle, so the changes become one movement.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 80 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 80 bpm
- Starts at
- 48 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Beginner
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
Lift all the fingers together and move them as a shape; land them before the strum, not with it.
Each chord gets two beats and one down, down-up: down on the first beat, down and up on the second. The order is G, C, G, D, G, C, then D for a whole bar: seven changes in four bars, more than most songs ask for.
Lift the fingers together and land them as one shape rather than one at a time. Put down the finger for the chord's lowest note first, since that's the string the downstroke hits first: the 2nd finger on the low E for G, the 3rd on the A string for C. The D sits on the top three strings only.
If a change isn't ready on the beat, strum anyway, even on open strings. Keeping time is worth more than a perfect chord, and the fingers catch up as you repeat it.
Mistakes to watch for
- Placing the fingers one at a time, which makes every change late.
- Looking at the fretting hand for every change. Glance at the next chord early, then look away.
- Pressing harder than the notes need. Squeezing slows the fingers down when they have to move.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 48
- 52
- 56
- 60
- 64
- 68
- 72
- 76
- 80
That's 16 loops and about 4 minutes before you're playing at 80 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one. Strums are checked for when they land, not for which strings rang.
Questions
How fast should I play G, C and D: quick changes?
The goal is 80 bpm in eighth notes, which is 2.7 strums a second. Start wherever every strum is clean: the player begins at 48 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
How long until chord changes feel easy?
For most people, a few weeks of a few minutes a day. Practising the change itself, many times in a row, works much faster than playing whole songs and stumbling at the same place each time.
Which G chord shape should I use?
This exercise uses the G with the 2nd and 1st fingers on the two bass strings and the 3rd on the high E, the shape most players learn first. Another common G puts the 3rd and 4th fingers on the B and high E; either works here.
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