We’re back with another Live Q&A session! Some of the questions I answered this month: How do you use the Circle of 5ths?, How do I improve chord transitions and make them more fluid?, and Is there an appropriate way to hold the pick?

I host these on the first Thursday of every month over on my YouTube channel. They start around Noon Pacific time. I’d love for you to join live next month if you can!

I just wrapped up my 30 day guitar coaching challenge. And quite the challenge it was. It’s amazing what you can do when you set a plan and really focus on achieving your goal. That’s actually the secret to learning guitar. Set up a realistic plan, schedule your tasks (like practice sessions), and follow through the best you can.

So I’d encourage you to do something similar. Maybe it’s practicing for 15 minutes a day for 30 days. Or learning a new song every week. These small goals will make a big impact on your guitar playing.

As always I’ve included time stamps for the questions we covered in today’s Real Guitar Live.

[6:25] How do you know where to use each strumming pattern?

[17:00] I understand from your lesson the “Skinny on Chords” that it is possible to have open chords not only in the standard position but other positions on the neck for instance I could make an A chord like B5th fret-G6th fret-D7th fret and root on the A string. Did I get it right? What other chords are sometimes played like that?

[20:40] How do you use the Circle of 5ths?

[24:19] Do you vary which strings you’re strumming depending on the song? So rather than strumming all the strings all the time?

[26:08] Is there an appropriate way to hold the pick? When I play it often sounds better when I don’t use a pick.

[30:48] How do I improve chord transitions and make them more fluid?

[34:55] I have a song where the verse ends with Em and the chorus starts with Em. How can I make the transition so it sounds interesting?

[37:49] As a new player (8 mos.) and at age 64 I find I have absolutely no stretch between my pinky and index finger when I reach for more than the high E string! As I close my hand they both point to the center area in my palm!! Any stretching exercises to help with this?

[43:12] I’ve really been working on developing my pinky finger, but can only do a small amount each day or it ends up being sore. Should I do more stretches?

[47:30] I’m learning Jazz so my transitions are shell chords, not open and there seem to be loads of changes. So I suppose your response and practice in small groups of 3?