How To Play The D Chord

@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, itā€™s still muting but @DavidPā€™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 Iā€™m pressing too softly right? Thank you so much by the way!! :smiley:

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Hey yā€™all :slight_smile: Why in a D chord on piano 3 notes are played, and on guitar 4 are played? The answer just eludes my grasp and Iā€™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 Dā€™s an octave apart . Be patient all will be revealed. If you rush through the lessons you frustrated yourself.

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Iā€™m on day 3 (itā€™s Wednesday and I started Monday) and Iā€™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 itā€™s SO hard to press down the second string with my third finger without at least slightly touching the first string. And 2) I canā€™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. Iā€™m gonna keep practicing though!

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Welcome to the Community Tom.

Iā€™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. Youā€™ll need to stretch your fingers and get up on the tips. It will take more than a few days, be patient.

:sunglasses:

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Thank you for the positive feedback! Iā€™ll certainly try to be patient haha - itā€™s very exciting to start this journey.

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Link for Practice Video

Hi guys, Iā€™m really stuck with the D chord. Actually I am getting it right but someone in the forum pointed out that I shouldnā€™t keep my thumb very close to the fretboard.
Here in the video
(1) is how I usually play the D chord and Iā€™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
Youā€™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 :smiley:
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator

This is the ā†’ Practice Video

Hi guys, So Itā€™s been a couple of weeks and Iā€™ve been doing practice. Just wanted feedback on how Iā€™m doing. Itā€™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 Iā€™d encourage you to focus on the changes, (e.g. A, D, A, D) rather than repeating the same chord.

Iā€™d also suggest not using a metronome when learning chords (others may disagree). Focus on your timing once youā€™ve got the chords down. For now, just try to switch back and forth and get them ringing cleanly. Do your ā€œChord Perfectā€ and ā€œOne Minute Changesā€ - maybe using Justinā€™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. Youā€™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 Bobā€™s your uncle :wink: all the best and good luck!

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Hi Hemant, as others have said thatā€™s a good start and, guitar tuning not withstanding(!), your finger positions looked solid and good.

Iā€™d echo a couple of bits of feedback already given, firstly with the thumb positioning, it looks like youā€™re good with it on the A chord but having it so far over the top playing D I donā€™t think will help you at this early stage. The second piece Iā€™ll echo is JKā€™s with using a metronome at this point, you should be focussing on the chord perfect and one minute changes. Whatever songs youā€™re working on at the beginning are enough to keep you occupied for rhythm and timings imo.

Kudos for posting up a progress video so early on, youā€™re doing great! Have fun :slight_smile:

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Hi @bulo and welcome to the community.

With D then A and E you have millions of songs available to play.
3 chords & the truth.
Rock n roll, blues, pop, rock, reggae etc.

Em may be a quick win but does not open out so much potential so readily.
I hope that helps.
Cheers :smiley:
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator

@jacksprat

Please break that habit.

D major and D7 sound and function very differently within chord progressions.

Easy wins are usually not wins at all.

I hope that helps.
Cheers :smiley:
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator

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@artax_2 75% of a D chord is formed by holding down strings. There is only one open string. It will undoubtedly sound like it comes to a stop when you lift your fingers.
Compare with say E major where you have three open strings that will continue to ring out after lifting the three fingers.

I hope that helps.
Cheers :smiley:
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator

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Yes. Yes you can.

Cheers,

Keith

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