I’m not sure. I do notice, and I noticed it from the time I learned it, that the D chord behaves these two ways for. I noticed on one of Nitsuj’s early practice videos that the pitch changed happened too, but its not common to hear him play a D chord without a music track in the subsequent modules so as to see if it was bad form that he improved with practice.
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I have the same issue. I keep thinking how Justin says, “Practice makes permanent”. For the D chord I can’t seem to get all three fingers placed on the strings at the same time. So I’m hoping that my struggle in finger placement is not becoming “permanent”…yikes! I appreciate the exercise that Richard posted below and will give that a go.
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Happy to report that several weeks on I am now much better with the D chord. To be honest, switching back and forth between A, D, E, Em, Dm and now Am is about all I do. For added fun, I’m trying very hard to learn the chords by feel now too as craning my neck to see my fingers moving started giving me a stiff neck. My own issue with D initially was trying to form the chord with my fingers completely vertical (which Justin does not advocate, as I discovered when I rewatched the video). My ring and little fingers have a pronounced curve and although stretching might lessen the effect over time I have no choice but to come in at an angle. Scales will be a mountain to climb!
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Just started like 3 days ago and I keep muting strings ;-; It’s either my index or my ring finger. I’ve tried to change my wrist position, thumb positions, but I just keep muting strings. Is the only solution to just keep practising? Also, I come from a drums background so this is just mind blowing 
loving it so far ^-^
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Welcome to the forum Sohan
There are 2 main reasons fot muting strings as a beginner. Most beginners press a lot harder than needed so see if a litter touch helps. The second reason is you won’t have any calluses on your fingers yet and the soft finger tips spread out as you press down.
Once yiur fingers toughen up the muting will go away.
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@GreenHairedDude In addition to what @stitch says, check your finger positioning to make sure one finger is not laying a little flat relative to the neck and touching the thinner string adjacent to the string one which it is fretting a note. You want your fingers to come down as near to perpendicular to the string as is needed to to avoid that.
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@stitch I did try pressing lighter, while that did make it easier on my fingers a ton, it’s still muting but @DavidP’s post did work! My finger positions were correct, but they were angled towards the board slightly, especially my index finger (I feel kinda dumb not noticing that). Picked it up this morning and checked my finger angles and it magically works! Although, the thickest string within the chord, the third thickest string, is a lot louder then the other strings, maybe I’m pressing too softly right? Thank you so much by the way!!
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Hey y’all 
Why in a D chord on piano 3 notes are played, and on guitar 4 are played? The answer just eludes my grasp and I’d surely love to get it
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Welcome to the forum Louis
It actually is only has 3 notes D F# and A. You play the D twice. Once one the D string and the 3rd fret of the B string. All major and minor chords only have 3 note but each note can be played more than once. You can do the same thing on the piano but it takes both hands or a big stretch.
When you get to the G chord you will be playing all 6 strings but still only 3 notes G B and D.
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Ah, so you mean 2 D notes are played, but one in a different octave? If this is wrong, please correct me, but thank you so much for the help. It has finally come of my grasp. When will I learn about what the notes are on guitar? I surely love playing it!
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Yes you are playing 2 D’s an octave apart . Be patient all will be revealed. If you rush through the lessons you frustrated yourself.
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I’m on day 3 (it’s Wednesday and I started Monday) and I’m still finding the D chord somewhat difficult. I can do it, but my two main problems are 1) my third finger is almost always muting the first string because it’s SO hard to press down the second string with my third finger without at least slightly touching the first string. And 2) I can’t quite get my third finger down far enough close to the fret. Even with my first finger down on the fret above, I can only get my third finger about halfway down. I’m gonna keep practicing though!
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Welcome to the Community Tom.
I’ll refer you to what David said a few posts up but 3 days is very early on in your journey. This is all very new for your fingers, take you time. You’ll need to stretch your fingers and get up on the tips. It will take more than a few days, be patient.
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Thank you for the positive feedback! I’ll certainly try to be patient haha - it’s very exciting to start this journey.
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Hi guys, I’m really stuck with the D chord. Actually I am getting it right but someone in the forum pointed out that I shouldn’t keep my thumb very close to the fretboard.
Here in the video
(1) is how I usually play the D chord and I’m getting it right mostly from 3-4 days.
(2) is when I keep my thumb on the back of Fretboard but my fingers are straight perpendicular. Although I get the chord right mostly but ky fingers hurts.
(3) is how I usually play but just with the thumb at back. And with this I just am not able to push my MIDDLE FINGER with full force. Can someone help me out with this thumb position or refer me to some video so I can get it right.
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@thodabewakoof
You’re doing a good thing by asking the question and posting a video link.
Note - I ad to download the video to my hard drive before it would play. Can you please choose different video file share system next time.
Also, the orientation of your video has your guitar neck pointing vertically to the sky. I was trying to observe and had to rotate my neck and laptop to make sense of what I was seeing.
In the early, early stages, Justin speaks often about keeping your thumb behind the neck, not hanging over the top of the neck.
This is because it will develop necessary strength in certain crucial muscles for long term benefit.
You mention pressing with full force. You do not want that. You should only press as hard as is needed for the note to ring out. Pressing harder is a bad habit.
It sounds like your guitar is either out of tune or - because you are pressing too hard - you are making some of the notes too sharp and the chord is not ringing in tune.
I am not sure what this actually means. Very close to what part of the fretboard?
I hope that helps.
Cheers
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator
This is the → Practice Video
Hi guys, So It’s been a couple of weeks and I’ve been doing practice. Just wanted feedback on how I’m doing. It’s a 1 minute video. If you have time let me know how I can improve .
And please give some tips on if my hand positioning is right. And if not
then how can I make it better and how can I make those chord sound better and any other tips too. THANK YOU.
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Grade 1, module 1, is super early in your journey.
My first feedback is tune your guitar every time you play - it sounds out of tune. Hard to tell on hand positioning as most of your fretting hand is not visible. At this stage you should aim to have the chords ring out clearly, and to be able to change between chords. With that in mind I’d encourage you to focus on the changes, (e.g. A, D, A, D) rather than repeating the same chord.
I’d also suggest not using a metronome when learning chords (others may disagree). Focus on your timing once you’ve got the chords down. For now, just try to switch back and forth and get them ringing cleanly. Do your “Chord Perfect” and “One Minute Changes” - maybe using Justin’s one minute changes app.
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Hey Hemant,
A good start. Couple of suggestions.
- Make tuning your guitar the first step when picking it up.
-Try positioning the thumb around the back of the guitar neck. It will aid with solid chord formation, by allowing your fingers to meet the strings more at the perpendicular. Later on in your journey you will develop your own feel, but best to start with around the back, rather than over the top. - its a good idea, particularly early on to revist some lessons more than once or twice. Its amazing how one can often pick things up that may have been missed. Stay close to Justins advice.
And keep going mate. You’re doin well. Continue to reach out anytime for help and feedback. We are all here helpin each other out.
All the best
Cheers, Shane
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Hey man, looks like you are off to a good start! Comments above are really quite detailed, all I can say to highlight most important bits from above - tune your guitar and make sure your chord changes are clean by playing Perfect Chord Change excercise for each so playing each string separately before strumming down.
Your changes looked okay overall, just now making sure your guitar sounds good and Bob’s your uncle 
all the best and good luck!
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