As we covered earlier, a C major chord (1 – 3 – 5) would be C – E – G, and adding a seventh would give you a Cmaj7 chord of C – E – G – B. With some practice, this exercise will start to feel easy and you won’t have to think as much as you will need to in the beginning.

You now know you can save lots of time, energy and frustration leaving certain fingers on the fretboard at all times, mastering the art of pivoting.If you are cramped, it will only make it more difficult. You need your fingers to move fluently and without any issues, and if you are nervous or not relaxed in any way, it will make it hard.

Can I improve my chord changes without practicing every day? While regular practice is essential for progress, you don’t have to practice for hours on end every single day. Consistency and quality are more important than duration. Even dedicating ten focused minutes each day to chord changes can yield noticeable improvements over time. I have highlighted the finger which should be your ‘pivot’ finger in red in the following 5 examples. A perfect 4th above a Bb is an Eb, and a 4th above that is an Ab, so a quartal chord built on C would be C – F – Bb – Eb – Ab. Quartal chord built on C What you need to do now is gradually increase the tempo. Set the metronome to 85 bpm and try the exercise again. This is all the information you need to play the chord, so that’s why it’s important to memorize it.The quality of the chord affects how it sounds. For example, you could say a major chord sounds happy or a minor chord sounds sad.