does anyone have trouble keeping their second and third fingers apart on the fret board? keep stretching?
does anyone have trouble keeping their second and third fingers apart on the fret board? keep stretching?
I know he uses the fourth finger, but I am trying to stretch between my second and third fingers as tough love
Hi Tim @TimmyBengal, grade 2 beginner here. At this point, Iād suggest following Justinās suggestions, and not imposing tough love on yourself. (Even if he offers the option of using your third finger in Dmin, if you are struggling with it you might do well to postpone that challenge. There are plenty more challenges to work on!) Justin will address your concerns in due course. And some of us, in our eagerness, actually cause ourselves harm (temporary, but frustrating.) In fact, I think he introduces a beginner stretching exercise (which I do daily) in the next module. 
Hi Tim @TimmyBengal, as was already said: if youāre just starting out, keep with the way Justin teaches the Dm chord for now. But in the longer run, you might indeed want to learn to use your 3rd finger instead of the 4th. If you get there and you ask the same question: yes, itās normal to struggle a bit. Basically, itās not just a question of stretching, but also (or even more) of finger independence: your 3rd and 4th fingers tend to stick together and work together - they donāt like having to do thinks separately. You can train this in different ways, amongst others by following Justinās finger stretching exercises which he introduced in the same module, I think.
Yes, there is something about anatomy - single muscle/tendon controlling both finger 2 and 3 or similar. Anyway, this is a known āproblemā. It will become better through time regarding positioning of your fingers 2 and 3 on adjoining frets. Your main fingers for reaching an extra fret(s) will always be index and pinkie.
For D minor you can use pinkie instead of ring finger. If you are using ring finger, you need to rotate your hand a bit to place fingers a bit diagonally. I hate Dm! 
I use 1st, 2nd, and 4th fingers for D minor instead. Justin mentions that this is another option, it was more comfortable for me, and after 4 years, I havenāt found a need to use 1st, 2nd, and 3rd instead (yet).
1-2-4 is what works for me. After 4 years of practicing/playing, I havenāt had the need to use 1-2-3 yet.
YMMV
Tying up your pinkie will inhibit sus chords and the like down the line. Use it if you need to at the beginning but 1 2 3 is the better option in the long term. YMMV.
I struggled with the 123 fingering in the beginning so learned Dminor with 124. Later on I switched to 123 but it wasnāt a conscious decision. I just found myself playing it that way. I think it was because finger independence and dexterity build up over time with all the things we learn on guitar. 123 feels quite natural now.
So use 124 for now and Iām sure youāll be able to eventually make the switch too. Also, using the pinkie now will strengthen it for later in the course.
Hereās the thing about D minor: itās just not used that much. It appears in the keys of C (ii chord), B (iii chord) and F (vi chord). We almost never play in the keys of B or F. Compare that to Am (appears in the guitar-friendly keys of C and G), Bm (A, G and D) and Em (D, C and G). You come across these chords far more often than D minor.
So, my advice is to learn D minor in whatever way is easiest (using ring finger or pinky). If you happen to come across a song that needs the other version, then you must learn the other version. However, you may find you never need it.
D minor is the iii chord in Bb major, not B.
IMO, dismissing the ābasicā Dm grip because the chord itself is used less often than others is not very beneficial in the long run given that the same grip can be used as a minor triad on its own further up the neck for playing different chords.
HI @Jozsef ,
Good catch, itās Bb, not B. The point still stands as neither are common keys for guitarists.
Good point also about triads, I had not considered that. Do you think there is an advantage playing them with either the ring or pinky fingers? I cannot think of anything obvious.
BTW, Iām not really ādismissingā any particular D minor grip. I just think that for a beginner learning the chord, it makes sense to focus on the easier version (whichever that might be for any given player) and deal with the other version if and when the necessity arises.
There are no hard rules, only practical considerations. For a regular D minor chord/triad it doesnāt really matter which fingering you choose.
When going from a Dm to a Dsus4, youāre likely to use fingers 1-2-3 for the D minor and put the pinky down on the thinnest string for the Dsus4.
Playing a Dm/C is only possible with fingering 1-2-4 for the D minor and the 3rd finger for the C bass.
It really depends on the context. My natural go-to is fingering 1-2-3, but surrounding chords or notes dictate the best fingering.
Well, everything depends on the circumstances. I just think that after learning the open D, A, E, Em and C chords, beginners can already take on a bit of a challenge with a not-so-easy grip that might take a little longer to perfect.
I think what @Jozsef is getting at is the lesson recommends using Fingers 1, 2, and 4 to develop that 4th finger but as Justin says further up this thread use what feels best for you. The post above from @Jeff puts it nicely the advantages of both options.
For me, the Dm has been the hardest chord to play at this point.
Itās a tricky one, I agree.
Dm is part of a song Iām working on at the moment and Iām still amazed that the changes to Dm are meanwhile fast enough and that it now sounds good rather reliably. Still that took weeks and weeks of work.
Thus: Donāt give up. I know from experience it will be easier soon 
So I pretty much have all good information from module 1-2-3-4 mastered except for the ā old reliable ā song he has on there. I would be able to play it fine if it wasnāt for the D minor cord and itās very much aggravating me. Iāve been practicing the cord and the cords not hard, itās just hard to play in the song switching from a to d minor. Iāve been heavily practice just that for like 5 days and still canāt seem to making practice
If itās any reassurance the Dm chord was my nemesis and I mastered it although I need to revisit it from time to time. 5 days practice is nothing to be honest, you just need to keep working on it slowly until muscle memory kicks in.
I can only confirm what James says. Five days is nothing. The Dm chord is tricky and I have been fighting with it with for many, many weeks. At the moment, my changes to Dm sound goodā¦and that still surprises me almost every time.
Donāt give up. You are not alone with Dm challenges. And you will get there by practicing slowly and steadily.
Hello Kolton and welcome to the Community.
By old reliable do you mean the old faithful strumming pattern.
If you can add a bit of clarity then more people will be able to offer more and better help.
Cheers
Richard
My personal approach when looking at chord changes like this is to really break it down and think about where each finger moves from and to. Thereās often a finger that doesnāt move or maybe just moves across one string which can be a good starting point.
I also like to practice chord changes like this just for a few minutes at a time and then keep coming back for as long as it takes until itās fast, reliable and automatic, which is usually more than 5 days!