Do you have:

• Big pauses when you try to go from one chord to the next?
• A panic and go blank when a change is coming?
• No matter how many times you repeat it, it still feels messy and clunky…

The aim is to have your chords bouncing smoothly and seamlessly from one to the next. The only time you want to hear a break is if there’s supposed to be one.

This is aimed at players who already know some open chords and have started putting songs together. (If you’re an absolute beginner, your first job is to learn 3 chord shapes so you can remember them each time you pick the guitar up.)

So why is it taking too long? Here are the 5 reasons — and how to fix each one.

1. You can’t move your fingers into the shape quick enough

This is about programming your fingers so they do what you want them to. As soon as you see or think “D chord,” you should be able to form a D chord shape with your fingers. Fingers can be stubborn, so keep telling them.

Exercise: take the individual chords from a sequence you’re learning and practise forming your fingers into that shape on the guitar. This trains your response time. When you think “D,” make sure you’re forming the shape and landing on the right strings — and with the strumming hand, make sure you’re strumming from the right string, in this case the D string.

If this still needs work, you’ll struggle putting a smooth sequence together. Work on this first.

Tip: visualising the shapes helps. D is a little triangle. C is a diagonal with one missing. F is a smaller diagonal. A is 3 fingers in a straight line. Once you’ve made these shapes enough, your fingers start to feel the shape on the fretboard.

2. Your “1, 2, 3” fingers are taking up valuable time

In the beginning we all put our fingers down one at a time — 1, 2, 3 — to get used to the positioning. That’s a great way to get started. It will hold you back after a time though. You need all fingers in the chord to land at the same time.

Solution: practise landing your chords in one go. Pick individual chords in your sequence — C, for example — and aim to land all fingers at the same time.

3. You don’t know quickly enough what chord is next in your sequence

You need to know your chord sequence. You don’t necessarily have to memorise it, but you do need to be able to skim read it and know in your mind what’s next. When you’re strumming a song, you always need to be one step ahead — if your chord changes from Dm to Am, when you play your Dm you should already be thinking ‘Am is next’.

Exercise: start by learning your chord sequence. An easy option is a song with only 3 chords all the way through — Wicked Game (Chris Isaak) is a great example. Repetition is key. If your sequence is more complex, break it into small chunks — blocks of 4, for example. Songs repeat a lot, so it may be you only need to remember the first 4 chords before the sequence loops.

4. You can’t move between the chords smoothly

Break it down. If your sequence is Am–G–D–F, practise shape-shifting in the air en route to each chord, slowly — remembering to land the fingers in one go. Some changes will come quicker than others, so if you hit a sticky point (Am to G, say), focus just on those two: Am to G to Am to G, until you’ve got more fluency. Then put the full sequence back together.

5. Your changes are only smooth when you play slow

Time to speed them up. Practise with something other than yourself — use a metronome, find the bpm you’re comfortable at, then incrementally speed it up. Or play along to a recording, as long as it’s within reach. Playing along to a recording also takes some of the over-focus off your own playing and develops your sense of timing and where accents sit in a passage. Playing with a group is another great way to build this.

If you struggle too much with any of this, go back a step or two and master the previous stage first.

The reality

This is probably going to take longer than you want — often. Be patient. Some things come quicker than others, and you’ll make headway in ways you weren’t expecting, while other things will drive you a bit mad.

Practise, and be realistic about it. Sometimes it’s best to take a break and come back after you’ve slept.

Remember to have fun.

If you’re an absolute beginner looking for a structured place to start, Your First 6 Guitar Lessons is a free course to get you going.