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How Long Does It Take to Learn Open Chords?
How long to learn open chords depends on what "learn" means. With ten to fifteen minutes a day, most beginners can hold the main shapes in two to four weeks. Changing between them cleanly and in time usually takes one to three months.
No account, no download. The demo has limited content. Advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.
- MIDI keyboard
- Digital or acoustic piano
- Guitar
- Computer, phone or tablet
A realistic timeline
- Week 1: G, C, D, Em, Am as slow single shapes. Sore fingertips are normal.
- Weeks 2 to 4: every string rings, and slow changes between pairs (G to C, C to D, Em to Am).
- Months 1 to 3: changes in time at a steady tempo, plus E, A, Dm and the open 7ths.
- After that: speed, and playing from the chord name without thinking.
Why changes take longer than shapes
Holding a chord is one movement. Changing is a new movement for every pair of chords, and five chords already make ten pairs. That is why the fastest progress comes from practising the changes themselves, not each chord alone.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Open Chords?
ChordRunner is a browser game that teaches piano and guitar chords: a chord appears on screen, you play it on a real instrument, and your runner jumps.
Play the demoHow many open chords are there?
The core set is about eight: C, A, G, E, D, Am, Em, Dm. Add the open 7ths (A7, B7, C7, D7, E7, G7), a few major and minor 7ths (Amaj7, Cmaj7, Fmaj7, Am7, Em7, Dm7) and sus chords, and you get around twenty to thirty useful open shapes.
A ten-minute routine
Two minutes on one hard pair, two on another, then six minutes of chords in random order. ChordRunner does the random part: it sends chord symbols, listens through the microphone and only lets your runner jump when the chord is right, which is exactly the pressure that makes changes fast.
The levels in ChordRunner
- Beginner: major, minor, augmented and diminished chords.
- Intermediate: adds sus2 and sus4.
- Advanced: adds 6th, 7th and 9th chords.
- Pro: adds 11th, 13th and altered chords; an adaptive mode adds the next family when you are ready.
Common questions
How long does it take to learn open chords?
Two to four weeks to hold the main shapes with daily practice, and one to three months to change between them cleanly and in time.
How many open chords are there?
About eight core ones (C, A, G, E, D, Am, Em, Dm) and twenty to thirty useful shapes if you add 7ths and sus chords.
Why do my chord changes stay slow?
Usually because you practise chords one at a time. Practise pairs of chords and random orders, and lift all fingers together toward the next shape.
Which instruments work?
A USB MIDI keyboard, detected automatically, or a piano or guitar through the microphone. Everything runs in Chrome or Edge on a computer, tablet or phone.
How is this different from apps where you tap the screen?
Tapping trains your eyes and fingers on glass. Here you press real keys or fret real strings, and the game hears the actual notes, so what you practise is exactly what you will play on your instrument.
Is everything in the demo?
The demo has limited content. Advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.
Your instrument is the controller.
ChordRunner is a browser game that teaches piano and guitar chords: a chord appears on screen, you play it on a real instrument, and your runner jumps. MIDI keyboard or microphone, both work.
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