Originally Posted by: jeongminc.jmHi, started playing guitar about a month ago. I've been having a lot of fun playing songs and learning chord progressions through the beginner's curriculum. But I can't help but feel this odd sense that I'm simply memorizing chord shapes and locations on the fret board, as opposed to taking away some transferrable skill from each song I learn to put into use when learning a new song.
Is this an issue I should be worried about? Any tips on how to mitigate this? Or will the understanding come naturally as I load on more songs? I've only learned like 4 songs so far. Thanks!
Like Carl, nothing you should be too terribly worried about. But, you probably are getting a sense that different songs have different feels to them and often people may not know why that is.
There was another thread a few days ago about a chord change from A Major to D minor (modulation). While I'll leave the theory out, one of the points that Chris S. made was that such modulations can lead to chord progressions with a melancholy vibe to them. Whereas a major-to-major chord change would feel a little more happy and so on.
The point being; as you are learning songs, it can't hurt to pay attention to the type of chord changes you're making and how that translates emotionally. It's not that you need to worry so much about theory early on, you don't. If you start digging in to theory, you'll see how these work mechanically. However, learning songs is where the rubber meets the road and where you can hear what these types of changes and modulations can do to present an emotion.
In short, be mindful but don't go so far down that road that you forget to just play, enjoy and feel.
