ChopsSample Week 1 guitar plan: clean chord changes, a steady strum and your first song
This is a sample of the Week 1 plan a ChopsForge subscriber would get by email, built from the example intake below. It's not personalized to you, but you can follow it as written. A real plan is built from your own answers and changes each week based on your check-in.
Example intake
The plan
From: ChopsForge
Week 1 focus: Clean chord changes, a steady strum with the metronome, and one song section you can play through.
Before you start: Tune up before every session and set a metronome app to 60 BPM. Choose a song for the week that uses G, C, D and Em; you'll start on it Wednesday.
Monday: Chord check and baseline (20 min)
| Block | Min | Exercise | Tempo (BPM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 3 | Chromatic 1-2-3-4 on the low E and A strings, frets 1–4, alternate picking, quarter notes. | 60 |
| Chord check | 4 | Play Em, G, C and D one string at a time. Fix any string that buzzes or is muted by another finger. | - |
| One-minute changes | 6 | Em to G and back for 60 seconds; count the clean changes. Then G to C. Log both numbers: they're your baseline. | no click |
| Strumming | 7 | All down-strums on G, quarter notes, then 8th notes (down-up). | 60 |
Tuesday: The strum pattern (20 min)
| Block | Min | Exercise | Tempo (BPM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 3 | Chromatic 1-2-3-4, 8th notes. | 60 |
| One-minute changes | 6 | G to D, then C to D. Log both counts. | no click |
| Strum pattern | 6 | D, D-U, U-D-U (count "1, 2 and, and 4 and"). Muted strings first, then on Em. | 60 |
| Changes in time | 5 | G for 4 beats, C for 4 beats, quarter-note down-strums. Keep the strumming hand moving even if a chord is late. | 60 |
Wednesday: Song prep (20 min)
| Block | Min | Exercise | Tempo (BPM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 3 | Chromatic 1-2-3-4. | 60 |
| Song prep | 5 | Find the chords for your song from a reputable chord site or songbook. Write down the order of chords in the verse. | - |
| Changes in time | 6 | Your verse progression, 4 beats per chord, down-strums. | 60–70 |
| Strum pattern | 6 | D, D-U, U-D-U on one chord, then change chords every 4 beats. | 66 |
Thursday: Hardest change and a lead taster (20 min)
| Block | Min | Exercise | Tempo (BPM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 3 | Chromatic 1-2-3-4. | 66 |
| One-minute changes | 4 | Your hardest pair from Monday or Tuesday. Try to beat your count. | no click |
| Lead taster | 5 | A minor pentatonic, shape 1 at the 5th fret, up and down in quarter notes. Say "A" each time you play a root. | 60 |
| Song | 8 | The verse with the strum pattern, looped slowly. | 60–66 |
Friday: Re-test and record (20 min)
| Block | Min | Exercise | Tempo (BPM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 3 | Chromatic 1-2-3-4. | 66 |
| Benchmark | 5 | Re-test one-minute changes for Em to G and G to C. Compare with Monday. | no click |
| Song | 8 | Play the verse through without stopping, at the slowest tempo you can keep steady, or along with the recording. | 60+ or song tempo |
| Record | 4 | Record one run-through on your phone. Write down one thing to keep and one thing to fix. | - |
Log each day: Change counts, strumming tempo, minutes practiced, and a 1–5 difficulty rating.
Safety: Some fingertip soreness is normal at first; take a day off if it's sharp. Keep your fretting wrist relaxed, and stop if you feel pain in your wrist or hand.
End-of-week check-in
On day 6 or 7 the check-in takes about a minute:
- How many days did you practice (0–7), and about how many minutes a day?
- Your benchmark result (the number asked for above).
- For each focus area this week: too easy, just right, or too hard?
- What felt best this week?
- What was hardest?
- Any pain or discomfort? (yes/no, and where)
- Next week: same minutes, more minutes, fewer minutes, or a new goal?
What happens after the check-in
Your answers shape Week 2. If a block felt too easy, tempos or material move up a step. If it felt too hard, or you missed several days, the next week backs off or uses shorter sessions. If you report pain, take a rest, and see a doctor or physio if it doesn't settle. The benchmark from this week becomes the starting point for the next one.
Want the reasoning behind this plan, plus 20 and 45-minute versions you can use any day? Read the guitar practice routine guide. You can also see the drum and bass sample weeks, or all sample plans.