by Pietro Sirianni

Created on: March 06, 2009   Last Updated: March 11, 2009

This article is not for the faint of heart, or lazy guitar player. Mastering any art-form is a life's work and does not come without some degree of sacrifice and very hard work. I have been playing guitar seriously for close to 30 years. In that time I have played on stage with Metal bands, studied with students of Segovia, recorded in numerous studios, done strange lounge gigs with flute players, become proficient as a composer and pianist, and scoured the world for information on the guitar. I would humbly introduce myself to you as qualified.

Clean chord changes require left hand dexterity, good left hand positioning, and sme hard work. Let's start with left hand positioning. Your thumb should be in the middle of the neck. This gives the fingers a greater area of attack in relation to the strings and also better overall balance. You may find this difficult at first but keep at it and the muscle between your first finger and thumb will grow stronger.

After making sure your thumb is in the middle of the neck, next make sure the area where your fingers meet your hand is parallel with the side of the neck. Make sure your hand is not actually touching the neck but parallel with it. Your thumb should be along the same plane as your second finger as you look down from above.

Next, your fingers. First off, the nails should be clipped to avoid contact with the fret board. That contact would push the flesh of your finger away from the string. Your fingers should be arched nicely so that you could play any note with a finger tip. Always try to play with your finger tips as this will speed up your playing. The smallest surface area providing only the amount of pressure needed to the string is what is necessary to achieve clean chord changes.

If you are not used to playing this way, it will take a while. If you are a beginner and start your guitar studies with this form I can say with some confidence that you will be better than 80% of the players out there when you've matured into a professional. Callouses, or the hardening of the fingertips is necessary and will come in time. There have been times when mine have been so hard and scaly that I actually had to file them!

Once you've mastered this form practice your chord changes three ways. First, work the chord changes one finger at a time from the lowest string to the highest. For example: play a C-chord then change to a G-chord starting with your third finger moving from 'c' (5th string, 3rd fret) to 'g' (sixth string third fret) then from 'e' 4th string-2nd fret) to 'b' (5th string, second fret) etc. Next, do this in reverse and switch notes from high string to low string. Repeat the changes both ways several times.

Now this is the secret to truly achieving great results. I call it "block chord changes." Prepare to play a C-chord. Visualise it in your mind, then drop all of your fingers in place at once. Now visualize the G-chord then change to it with all of your fingers landing in place at once. Repeat all chord progressions you ever have to play like this and you will be a monster! None of that beginner one finger at time stuff for you anymore, you're with the big boys.

If you put some effort, well a lot of effort into these techniques you will be a better player, hands down. If you would like to go further there is an exercise book called "Esercizi di Tecnica Superiore" by Carmen Lenzi Mozzani. Mozzani was an Italian Guitarist born in 1869 who theorized that guitar players would one day have to play in all keys not just the usual G,C,E,A etc. So he wrote exercises in all keys. I spent many an hour suffering through these exersise,s but it was well worth it. Good luck in your studies!

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