Session 3: Adding Am: Two Chords

Duration: 50 minutes

Breaks: Put the guitar down for 5 minutes at the end of Segment 2 and again at the end of Segment 3. No stretch of playing is then longer than 15 minutes, and the session takes about an hour by the clock.

You already know Em. Today you add your second chord — A minor (Am) — and learn the most important skill in guitar: switching between chords smoothly. You will use your metronome to keep time while changing chords. By the end of this session, you will play a two-chord exercise using Em and Am.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

1. Play the Am chord cleanly with strings 1–5 ringing clearly
2. Change between Em and Am with a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM (the change test; goal for the week)
3. Strum a chord pattern alternating between Em and Am at 60 BPM
4. Use a metronome to keep steady time while changing chords
5. Play the “Two-Chord Rock” exercise piece

Materials Needed

• Your Saga SF-600C-BK guitar
• A guitar pick
• A clip-on tuner or phone tuner app
• A metronome
• A phone that can record sound (for one self-check)
• Handout for this session: Chord Transitions
• Reference: Chord Chart
• Reference: Glossary

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Segment 1 — Warm-Up and Stretch (5 minutes)

Hand Warm-Up

Open and close both hands loosely five times. Circle each wrist five times each way. Touch your thumb to each fingertip in turn. Shake the hands out.

Tune Your Guitar

Tune all six strings (EADGBE) with your clip-on tuner.

Posture check: In the first weeks you will need to look at your fingers. Keep the guitar upright against your body and tip your head forward to see the edge of the neck. Do not lean the guitar back to see the fretboard: that bends your fretting wrist.

The Pain Rule

You met this rule in Session 2. It applies every time you press a string, so read it again before you start.

The pain rule

1. Normal: fingertips that are tender, red or dented by the strings. Keep to the time limits and take the breaks.
2. Stop for today: fingertips that sting or burn, a blister or broken skin, or a hand that cramps or aches. With a blister, do not press strings again until it has healed.
3. Warning signs, stop at once: pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles; numbness or tingling; any sharp pain; pain that lasts into the next day. Rest until it has gone completely. If it comes back when you play, or has not gone after two days, see a doctor or physiotherapist before you play again.

Never play through any of these to finish a session or to keep to the schedule.

Em Warm-Up

Play Em with 4 downstrokes at 70 BPM, one strum per click. Lift your fingers. Place them back. Strum 4 more times. Repeat 4 times. This warms up your fretting hand and reminds your fingers where they go.

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Segment 2 — Technique Focus: The Am Chord (10 minutes)

The Am Chord

Am (A minor) is another minor chord with a dark, melancholy sound. It uses three fingers and five strings.

Chord Diagram: (Remember from Session 2: X above a string means do not play it.)

Am

XOO

1

2

3

EADGBe

Step-by-step:

1. Place your index finger (1) on string 2 (B string), fret 1. Press just behind the fret wire.
2. Place your middle finger (2) on string 4 (D string), fret 2.
3. Place your ring finger (3) on string 3 (G string), fret 2.
4. Thumb behind the neck, roughly behind fret 1–2.

Important: Do NOT play string 6 (low E) when strumming Am. Start your strum from string 5 (A). Rest the pick on string 5, then strum from there. This takes practice. If you accidentally hit string 6, it will not sound terrible, but the chord sounds cleaner without it.

Sound check: Pluck each string individually:

• String 6 (E): Do not play
• String 5 (A): Open — should ring clearly
• String 4 (D): Fret 2 — should ring clearly (finger 2 pressing)
• String 3 (G): Fret 2 — should ring clearly (finger 3 pressing)
• String 2 (B): Fret 1 — should ring clearly (finger 1 pressing)
• String 1 (E): Open — should ring clearly

Tuner check: Pluck strings 5 to 1 one at a time, slowly. The tuner should show A, E, A, C, E. A different letter means a finger is on the wrong string or the wrong fret.

If a string buzzes or sounds dead:

• If string 1 is dead: in Am, string 1 is deadened by finger 1. Finger 1 is on string 2, the next thicker string, and it is leaning on string 1. Stand that finger up on its tip.
• If a fretted note sounds dead: the finger is on top of the fret wire, or not quite pressing. Move it back a little towards the headstock. If it is still dead, the finger on the next thicker string is leaning on it: stand that finger up on its tip.
• If a note buzzes: (1) move the fingertip right up behind the fret wire; (2) stand the finger on its tip; (3) only then add the smallest extra pressure that clears the buzz.

Common issue with Am: Finger 1 on string 2 fret 1 sits next to the nut, where the string is stiffest, so this note needs a little more pressure than the others. Put your fingertip as close to the first fret wire as you can (towards the body of the guitar). If your finger sits back near the nut, the note will buzz.

Practice the chord: Place-strum-lift-place cycle, 10 times. Then strum Am at 60 BPM, one strum per click, for 8 measures.

Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.

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Segment 3 — New Learning: Changing Between Em and Am (15 minutes)

The Secret to Chord Changes

Beginners think chord changes are about speed. They are actually about efficiency — moving your fingers the shortest possible distance. Here are the rules:

1. Anchor fingers — If two chords share a finger on the same string and fret, do not lift that finger. It stays put. Em and Am have no finger in common; you will use an anchor finger for Em to E in Session 5.
2. Move together — All fingers that need to move should lift and land at the same time, not one at a time.
3. Hover, do not fly — When you lift your fingers to change chords, keep them close to the strings (2–3 mm above). Do not pull them far away from the fretboard.
4. Aim before you land — Look at where your fingers need to go. Move them into position in the air, then press down together.

Em to Am — Shared Structure

Look at these two chords side by side:

Em

OOOO

2

3

EADGBe

Am

XOO

1

2

3

EADGBe

Em: Finger 2 on string 5 fret 2, Finger 3 on string 4 fret 2 Am: Finger 1 on string 2 fret 1, Finger 2 on string 4 fret 2, Finger 3 on string 3 fret 2

Notice that fingers 2 and 3 sit side by side on fret 2 in both chords. Only the strings change.

To switch from Em to Am: Fingers 2 and 3 keep their side-by-side shape and move together one string towards the floor, while finger 1 lands on string 2 fret 1 at the same moment. Nothing stays down.

To switch from Am to Em: Finger 1 lifts, while fingers 2 and 3 keep their side-by-side shape and move together one string back towards the ceiling.

This is one of the easiest chord transitions on guitar.

Transition Drill

1. Play Em. Strum once. Let it ring.
2. Move to Am. Strum once. Let it ring.
3. Move back to Em. Strum once. Let it ring.
4. Continue alternating. Do not rush — accuracy first, speed later.

Do not use a metronome yet. Just focus on clean placement. Each chord should ring clearly (all six strings for Em, strings 5 to 1 for Am) before you move to the next.

How many: 20 slow changes; no clock; place every finger before you strum. (Em → Am counts as one change, Am → Em as another.)

The Change Test

From now on, this course measures every chord change one way, with the change test:

Set the metronome to the tempo given; each click is one beat. Strum each chord once, with a downstroke, and let it ring. Play a new chord every 4 beats (on beat 1 of each measure) or every 2 beats (on beats 1 and 3), as the target says. Alternate the two chords until you have played 8 chords in a row: that is 7 changes. You pass when all 8 land on their click with every string that should sound ringing, twice on the same day.

Today’s target: Em and Am, a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM. Strum on beat 1 and let it ring; move during beats 3 and 4. The first four of the eight chords look like this (a number in brackets is a beat you count but do not strum):

Chord:  Em                  Am                  Em                  Am
Count:  1  (2) (3) (4)  |   1  (2) (3) (4)  |   1  (2) (3) (4)  |   1  (2) (3) (4)  |
Strum:  D               |   D               |   D               |   D               |

Try it twice now. If you cannot land on beat 1, drop to 50 BPM and climb back 5 BPM at a time. Passing is this week’s goal, not today’s.

Break: 5 minutes. Guitar down.

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Segment 4 — Song Workshop: “Two-Chord Rock” (15 minutes)

“Two-Chord Rock” — Original Exercise Piece

Tempo: 60 BPM, one strum per click (slow — this is about clean transitions, not speed) Time signature: 4/4 Strumming pattern: All downstrokes (D), 4 strums per measure Structure: 8 measures — alternating Em and Am every 2 measures. Ending: after measure 8, strum one Em chord and let it ring

Chord:  Em                  Em
Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
Strum:  D   D   D   D   |   D   D   D   D   |

Chord:  Am                  Am
Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
Strum:  D   D   D   D   |   D   D   D   D   |

Chord:  Em                  Em
Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
Strum:  D   D   D   D   |   D   D   D   D   |

Chord:  Am                  Am
Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
Strum:  D   D   D   D   |   D   D   D   D   |

TAB:

Measures 1-2 (Em):
e|------0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---|
B|------0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---|
G|------0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---|
D|------2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---|
A|------2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---|
E|------0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---|

Measures 3-4 (Am):
e|------0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---|
B|------1---1---1---1---|---1---1---1---1---|
G|------2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---|
D|------2---2---2---2---|---2---2---2---2---|
A|------0---0---0---0---|---0---0---0---0---|
E|----------------------|-------------------|

The bottom line is empty: start your strum on string 5.

For measures 5 to 8, repeat measures 1 to 4. Then strum the final Em chord and let it ring.

How to practise this:

1. Set metronome to 60 BPM.
2. Start with Em — strum on each click for 8 clicks (2 measures).
3. On beat 1 of measure 3, you need to be on Am. The transition happens during beat 4 of measure 2 — start moving your fingers slightly early.
4. Play Am for 8 clicks (2 measures).
5. Switch back to Em on beat 1 of measure 5.
6. Play through all 8 measures without stopping, then strum the final Em.

What it should sound like: A steady alternation between the dark, full sound of Em and the slightly brighter, more focused sound of Am. Both chords should ring clearly — no buzzing, no dead strings.

Transition tip: The hardest moment is the switch itself. If you cannot change in time, leave out the strum on beat 4 and use that beat to move. The open strings will carry on ringing while you move; that is normal. Arriving on beat 1 of the new chord matters more.

Once You Are Comfortable

Try this variation — 2 measures each but with an accent on beat 1 (as in Session 2, D is a normal downstroke and d is a softer one):

Chord:  Em                  Em
Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
Strum:  D   d   d   d   |   D   d   d   d   |

Chord:  Am                  Am
Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
Strum:  D   d   d   d   |   D   d   d   d   |

The accent on beat 1 helps you feel the start of each measure and makes the chord change feel more intentional.

Fingertip check: Your fretting hand has been working hard with two chord shapes. Check your fingertips and your hand against the pain rule in Segment 1. If your fingertips are only tender, play through the piece one final time.

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Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)

What You Learned Today

• The Am chord (finger 1 on string 2 fret 1, finger 2 on string 4 fret 2, finger 3 on string 3 fret 2)
• Em to Am transition technique (fingers 2 and 3 move together one string towards the floor while finger 1 lands on string 2 fret 1; nothing stays down)
• The change test, and this week’s target: a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM
• Using a metronome to keep time during chord changes
• Leaving out the strum on beat 4 to buy time for a chord change
• The “Two-Chord Rock” exercise piece

Common Mistakes

1. Changing chords one finger at a time — Move all fingers together. If you place finger 2 first, then 3, then 1, you lose time and develop a slow habit.
2. Strumming string 6 during Am — Am starts from string 5. Rest the pick on string 5, then strum from there.
3. Rushing the chord change — Speed kills clean sound. If you cannot switch cleanly at 60 BPM, try 50 BPM. There is no shame in a slow tempo.
4. Lifting fingers too high during transitions — Keep fingers within 2–3 mm of the strings. High fingers mean longer travel time and less accuracy.
5. Forgetting to count — Count aloud: “1, 2, 3, 4.” If you stop counting, you will lose the beat during the chord change.

Self-Check Questions

1. Tuner check: hold Am and pluck strings 5 to 1 one at a time. Does every string ring clearly, and does the tuner show A, E, A, C, E? If not: use the fixes under “If a string buzzes or sounds dead” in Segment 2; a different letter on the tuner means a finger is on the wrong string or the wrong fret. Check again in the Chord Review block of the practice plan the next day.
2. Can you pass the change test for Em and Am at a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM? Check: all 8 chords land on their click with every string that should sound ringing, twice on the same day. If not: drop to 50 BPM and climb back 5 BPM at a time in the Change Test block of the practice plan, and try again the next day.
3. Recording check: record “Two-Chord Rock” (8 measures and the final Em, about 35 seconds) at 60 BPM, one strum per click, with the metronome loud enough to hear. Listen once for one thing: does every chord change land on beat 1, with no stop? If not: use the Transition tip from Segment 4 (leave out the strum on beat 4 and use that beat to move) in the Two-Chord Rock block of the practice plan for two days, then record again.
4. Do you remember which string to leave out when strumming Am? (String 6, the low E.) If not: read “Strumming string 6 during Am” under Common Mistakes again, and in the Chord Review block of the practice plan rest the pick on string 5 before you strum Am. Try again the next day.

Practice Plan for Week 3 (each practice day, 20 minutes)

Block	Time	Activity
Warm-Up	3 min	The warm-up from this session’s Segment 1, then tune
Chord Review	3 min	Em: 8 strums. Am: 8 strums. Then pluck each string of each chord and check it rings clearly. Repeat until the time is up
Transition Drill	5 min	Em → Am → Em → Am, one strum each, no metronome: 20 slow changes; no clock; place every finger before you strum. Repeat until the time is up
Two-Chord Rock	7 min	Play the full piece (8 measures and the final Em) at 60 BPM, one strum per click. Repeat until the time is up. Once it is clean, add the accents (D d d d)
Change Test	2 min	The change test for Em and Am: a new chord every 4 beats at 60 BPM, 8 chords in a row. Repeat until the time is up. If you cannot land on beat 1, drop to 50 BPM and climb back 5 BPM at a time

This is your plan for the whole week. The end-of-week check is in Weekly Plans Phase 1 2, Week 3.

Steel-string note: Your fingertips are now building calluses — the skin is hardening. Short practice on most days toughens your fingertips faster than occasional long sessions. A rest day does not undo it. If your fingertips are raw or blistered, rest them: the pain rule comes before the schedule.

Guitar Tip — Saga SF-600C-BK

If you find that your Am chord buzzes on string 2 (fret 1), it may be because the nut on your Saga is slightly high. This is common on new, factory-setup guitars. A guitar technician can file the nut slots for a few dollars, which lowers the action at fret 1 and makes fretting much easier. In the meantime, put your fingertip as close to the first fret wire as you can. If you have to press hard to get a clear note, do the string-height check in Guitar Guide.

After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)

• Read: Chord Transitions, the sections “Three Principles of Fast Chord Changes”, “Pivot Finger Guide” and “Level 1 — The Change Test (From Session 3)” (10 minutes).