At the chord change the strum stops: join two movements

You play G four times and everything sounds even. D arrives, the left hand hunts for fingers, the right hangs above the strings. The next grip may be clean, but the song has already stopped in the gap between the strum and the change.

These are two separate movements. The right hand has to stay even, even when it misses the strings. The left hand adds the grip to a pulse that is already running. It does not get the right to stop the clock.

First separately

On one G, or with the left hand on all six strings without pressing, play four downstrokes. Tempo 60 BPM. Watch only the right hand. The left hand stays still. That is the first half.

The second half without the right hand: move the fingers from G to D and back, until the path is clear. Only then join both movements.

Do not wait for the whole chord

The most tempting correction locks in the pause: you slow the right hand until three fingers stand perfectly. The left hand learns that it may take as long as it likes. When a steady pulse returns, that spare time disappears.

At the start of the bar, place the most important part of the grip, strike on time and add the remaining fingers while it rings. For a moment the chord may be incomplete. You check cleanliness in a separate round.

An incomplete grip is a stage, not a new version of the song. If after two even loops the same finger still misses, stop playback and practise that transition on its own. Then return to the pulse.

Then join them on a progression

A whole song adds lyrics and the urge to start again after a mistake. The progression G, D, Em, C leaves a repeating path. Every boundary comes round quickly.

Set Progression strum: I V vi IV in G, four downstrokes, 60 BPM. First loop: the right hand keeps going, the left may be late, as long as it does not stop. Second loop: the same four grips, still without a pause at the boundary.

If the hand stops before D, do not fix the other three changes yet. Play the G and D pair a few times, return to the full loop and check that one place.

Even does not mean clean yet

The first round asks whether the right hand keeps going. The second: whether the left hand arrives on time. If you join those two tests from the start, every dirty sound will provoke a pause, and the pause will hide the problem.

First two complete loops without stopping. Then listen only to the first stroke after the change. Empty or dirty: take that transition out for separate practice.