OK, time to get your fingers on the guitar and make a sound! So grab your guitar and lets go...

Video Lesson

 

OK, lets get started with our D Chord...

Look at the chord box for the D chord (below). The black dots are the places where you should position your fretting fingers (Fretting fingers are the ones that go in the frets - for a right handed player it will be your left hand, the opposite for a lefty)

 

Try to place your fingers in the places shown with the correct fingering. Most students find it is easier to arrange their fingers by number order starting with your first finger. Try it and see if it works for you, but it is not important. Place your first finger on the 3rd string, second fret. The second finger on the 1st string, also on the second fret and your third finger on the 2nd string on the 3rd fret.

The fingers should be just behind the appropriate frets. If a finger is touching the fret it, the note will sound dead or muted and if it is too far back from the fret the note will buzz. You may find that your fingers will not stretch to where you want them to go at first, but it won't take long for them to find the way to play it. Just let you hand get used to moving in ways that it may never have done before.

 

Thumb position

When you start playing it is better to keep your thumb placed behind the neck. Have it resting about 3/4 of the way toward the sixth string, firmly planted on the pad of the thumb (not the tip). Your palm should not be touching anywhere. Got that? The palm of your left hand must not be touching the neck, it's important.

 

What strings to pluck?

Check which strings should be played, for the D chord you should NOT play the thickest two strings. Remember the X means don't play that string!

When you strum be aware of where you start the strum from. Although it may seem like a lot to think about at the start, the quality of your playing will be worth the little extra time to get it right. It will be tempting sometimes to just disregard it and strum away on your favorite tune. When this urge hits you, just do it. But when you PRACTICE then be careful of what notes you are hitting. Have a listen to what our D chord sounds like if all 6 strings are plucked. Pretty rough, and it makes the chord muddy and unclear.

Have a go now and strum down with your thumb or plectrum from the 4th string down (toward the ground) - remembering that the 6th string is the thickest string...

 

Did it sound like this?

Chord-D by justinguitar

 

Get the notes clear

What you may need to do now is make some adjustments. Don't worry if the ends of your fingers get a bit sore, just take a short break if it bothers you too much. Check that each finger is not touching anywhere where it should not. On this D chord it is quite common for your third finger to be touching the 1st string and stopping it sounding. If this is the case then try to angle the finger more directly down on the string with the tip of your finger. Try to let there be a small gap between the edge of your first finger and the fingerboard. The palm of your left hand should not be touching the guitar neck anywhere.

 

Strum / Pick Out / Strum

One of the most important beginners skills is to get your chords clear. I always teach students to Strum / Pick Out / Strum. This is the best way to check your chords and get them correct. You will use this method for all chords that you learn in the future!

Start by giving the chord a strum, then play each note individually starting from the thickest string that you should play, make any necessary adjustments and then strum the chord again, with it nice and clear. The take a second break and try it again.

The hard part is getting the notes clear when you pick them one at a time. What might have sounded like a good chord can have quite a few notes missing that you will only discover when you try and pluck them one at a time!

As you strum it the second time (with all the notes nice and clear) tell yourself that this is how you want the chord to sound. This will take some practice - there is no shortcut - you just have to put in the time!!

Alternative Fingerings

You will find other fingerings for this and other chords, you might even find it easier another way... but I would strongly suggest that you start with the fingering that I show you here. It is going to help you with your chord changes and almost everyone plays the D Chord this way. James Taylor is the only big name player I can think of that plays it differntly, he swaps the first and second fingers over, very unusual.

It Hurts!

Your first chord is going to hurt. Sorry! Pressing your soft skin down on thin metal strings is going to be uncomfoirtable when you start but it doesn't last and everyone has to go through it. Remember not to play too much and wear out the skin or you'll have to have a few weeks off to let them heal. Just play a bit until they get sore, have a little rest and then come back to it.

It usually takes a month for the fingers to get used to it, though you should find it a lot less painfull after just a couple of week.

Memory

You must try and memorise every chord you learn right away, don't be looking at the page for longer than a week, absolute maximum, try and get it into your head in 5 mins or less. Just do it. It's no good having to look at the page - you will probably want to look at your fingers while you play when you start and you can't do both!!

Strum this chord and play around with getting it sounding nice for a 5 minutes or so. Have a bit of a play around and see what it sounds like.

 

Once you have this one under your fingers (but don't worry about getting it perfect yet!) then it's time to check out another chord in BC-112 • The A Chord

 

HELP!!!!

If you need to ask a question about this lesson - there is a topic set up specifically to help you with this lesson. To help you find it easily you can click the following link and it will take you right the topic. You'll be able to see questions that other people had and ask your own questions! Hopefully one of the very helpful members of our community will be there to help you soon, I do go there and answer stuff too - but there are just too many questions for me to answer alone! So click this link to get help with this lesson!

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