Does it take you a long time to learn a new chord?
Do you want the secret to quickly learning new chord shapes?
Applying this write-up could dramatically speed your progress!
Contrary to common belief, fingering chords is a matter of control, not strength. While your first bar chords takes some strength development, control is what you need. And control is developed with slow and focused repetition.
Learning chords on a guitar or bass is simply a matter of muscle memory. According to a physical therapist student of mine, it can take up to 3,000 repetitions to establish the muscle memory of a specific motion. That’s a lot of repetitions! I’ve had students learn new chords in a shorter period of time as well, because they already knew many of them, or they had very coordinated hands. There is always a time variable, and nothing is absolute.
(I once had a beginning guitar student who learned every technique point perfectly the first time which was quite impressive. He was a slight-of-hand magician and could shuffle a deck of cards in each hand at the same time so his hand/finger dexterity was unbelievable. Wow!)
The following exercise is a technique for learning chords I’ve used for years that works like a charm. (If you are left-handed just reverse the instructions.)
