Guitarists - tips on D Chord please :)

[numtumfutunch]

After a lifetime of wishing I was Tony Iommi I have eventually picked up a borrowed Yamaha Pacifica and enrolled with the Fender online course

Ive done the first module which had me picking strings, not too bad, C and G chords, also not bad, then D which Im struggling with.
For a break and to stop myself getting despondent I kicked on to the end of module 1 and have got the hang of Am and Em without too much difficulty

The main issue with D is that I snag the bottom E string and trash the harmony. Ive been practicing for just over a week - at my age poss not long enough - and any tips would be welcome.

My nails are possibly an issue??? Theyre certainly short but could possibly go shorter than I usually find comfortable.

The other things Im doing by the book, thumb vertical, fingers arched and at 90 degrees to the strings.

Is it just practice or are there any obvious tips to share please?

Cheers

[RegMolehusband]

That sounds a little odd. You will get far better answers than mine. But the low E string is miles away from the D chord shape. Perhaps you need to post a photo of what you are doing

You only need to hit the top three strings, GB&E really. So your pick should miss the lower E by 5mm or more. Excuse my basic amateur description!

Edited by RegMolehusband on Wednesday 27th October 16:19

[numtumfutunch]

Sorry, my novice status is confusing things

I meant the High e string

It takes all of my time to position my finger on the b to avoid snagging it

Thanks!

[Gaspode]

- Index finger on 2nd fret G string to give an A.
- 2nd finger on 2nd fret E string to give an F#,
- ring finger on 3rd fret B string to give a D.

Wrap your thumb over the top of the neck either to hold the low E string at the 2nd fret also to give an F#, or failing that just to mute the string by touching it (which is what I do).

Try to play only the higher 4 strings to get D A D F#. If you hit the 2nd string by mistake it's not the end of the world as it's an A and still in the chord, but it just changes it to a D/A instead of a straight D. If you hit the low E string then it'll either be muted so it won't sound or you'll have it fretted so you'll get a D/F# which is also ok. If you only play the top 3 strings you'll get a D Maj Triad, but as the lowest note is the 5th it's more properly known as a 1st inversion and will sound a bit thin compared to the 'proper'* 4-note chord.

• Be very wary when people tell you that there's a 'wrong' and a 'right' way, especially if they insist there's only one right way.

Top tip: once you've got the basic open chords under your belly, learn the CAGED system and the notes on the fretboard as soon as you can. There are at least 5 different places on the neck to play a D chord (or any chord) and the quicker you learn what they are and how to use them the more you'll be able to sound the way you want to.

[RegMolehusband]

It seems to me you just need to make sure that middle finger is as vertical as possible by lowering your elbow and twisting your wrist. Minor pain is sometimes required until your body adapts I will leave it now and let proper guitar players comment.

[gazza285]

It’s just practice.

[HiAsAKite]

gazza285 said:

It’s just practice.

This.

What you are going through, everyone who plays guitar went through.

Wait till you try bar chords and wonder how its possible to have the finger strength to do it... practice, and one day you'll find you can.

A lot of guitar chord positions and moves feel very unnatural and wrong at first, as you will have never asked your muscles to move and hold your fingers that way before.

Same with the D. Practice, slowly, but getting it right.
You will find it get easier with time.

In terms of avoiding fowling the high E with your finger on the B string, you need to arch that finger. Short finger nails will clearly help. Buts its just practice.

[HiAsAKite]

Gaspode said:

- Index finger on 2nd fret G string to give an A.
- 2nd finger on 2nd fret E string to give an F#,
- ring finger on 3rd fret B string to give a D.

Wrap your thumb over the top of the neck either to hold the low E string at the 2nd fret also to give an F#, or failing that just to mute the string by touching it (which is what I do).

Try to play only the higher 4 strings to get D A D F#. If you hit the 2nd string by mistake it's not the end of the world as it's an A and still in the chord, but it just changes it to a D/A instead of a straight D. If you hit the low E string then it'll either be muted so it won't sound or you'll have it fretted so you'll get a D/F# which is also ok. If you only play the top 3 strings you'll get a D Maj Triad, but as the lowest note is the 5th it's more properly known as a 1st inversion and will sound a bit thin compared to the 'proper'* 4-note chord.

• Be very wary when people tell you that there's a 'wrong' and a 'right' way, especially if they insist there's only one right way.

Top tip: once you've got the basic open chords under your belly, learn the CAGED system and the notes on the fretboard as soon as you can. There are at least 5 different places on the neck to play a D chord (or any chord) and the quicker you learn what they are and how to use them the more you'll be able to sound the way you want to.

This is good advice too :-)

[numtumfutunch]

Fantastic! Plenty to go on here, many thanks everyone

[Ronstein]

Because it's the way i taught myself eons ago, I play the D chord with a bar. (1st finger across the top three strings on the second fret, second finger on the third fret of the second string). Works well for me and frees up a finger for other activities (ooh-err missus!!)

[cherryowen]

Gaspode said:

- Index finger on 2nd fret G string to give an A.
- 2nd finger on 2nd fret E string to give an F#,
- ring finger on 3rd fret B string to give a D.

Wrap your thumb over the top of the neck either to hold the low E string at the 2nd fret also to give an F#, or failing that just to mute the string by touching it (which is what I do).

Try to play only the higher 4 strings to get D A D F#. If you hit the 2nd string by mistake it's not the end of the world as it's an A and still in the chord, but it just changes it to a D/A instead of a straight D. If you hit the low E string then it'll either be muted so it won't sound or you'll have it fretted so you'll get a D/F# which is also ok. If you only play the top 3 strings you'll get a D Maj Triad, but as the lowest note is the 5th it's more properly known as a 1st inversion and will sound a bit thin compared to the 'proper'* 4-note chord.

• Be very wary when people tell you that there's a 'wrong' and a 'right' way, especially if they insist there's only one right way.

Top tip: once you've got the basic open chords under your belly, learn the CAGED system and the notes on the fretboard as soon as you can. There are at least 5 different places on the neck to play a D chord (or any chord) and the quicker you learn what they are and how to use them the more you'll be able to sound the way you want to.

Saved me typing out my description.

And yes, any combination of D F# A gives you a D major chord.

For context, any major chord consists of the first, major third, and perfect fifth note of the parent scale. The D major scale is D E F# G A B C# D, counting 1 to 8 for each note. So the first note is D, the third is F#, the fifth is A. That's your major D chord. As Gaspode alludes to, any combination of D F# A anywhere on the fretbroard will give you a D major chord.

[Animal]

numtumfutunch said:

After a lifetime of wishing I was Tony Iommi I have eventually picked up a borrowed Yamaha Pacifica and enrolled with the Fender online course

Ive done the first module which had me picking strings, not too bad, C and G chords, also not bad, then D which Im struggling with.
For a break and to stop myself getting despondent I kicked on to the end of module 1 and have got the hang of Am and Em without too much difficulty

The main issue with D is that I snag the bottom E string and trash the harmony. Ive been practicing for just over a week - at my age poss not long enough - and any tips would be welcome.

My nails are possibly an issue??? Theyre certainly short but could possibly go shorter than I usually find comfortable.

The other things Im doing by the book, thumb vertical, fingers arched and at 90 degrees to the strings.

Is it just practice or are there any obvious tips to share please?

Cheers

It sounds like the issue is either:
1. that your ring finger is too flat against the fretboard, so it's partially touching the E string as you fret the chord.
2. that you've got your hand so far under the neck (you can tell this by how far round your thumb is - can you touch the low E string with your thumb?) that your hand itself is touching the strings, rather than just fingers.

This is just practice. Do it until your hands ache, change chord positions, then go back to it. Your fingers are like any other limbs - they need strengthening for the specific task being asked of them.

One tip: don't cut your fingernails too short. If you end up playing a lot (i.e. hours a day), your fingertips are going to become a bit sore until you develop callouses, and this'll be exacerbated by having nails that are too short.

[languagetimothy]

It could be that the finger you are using on the third fret is too big, catching the edge of the E string.

I often play an open D like this using my smaller fifth finger on the third fret:

[WoolyFox]

As a new starter back in January, I had real issue with the D chord too!

I found that after 9 months of practice, learning songs, mindless noodling, your fingers will eventually find a position that works for you.

I still struggle with F chord (the half Barre chord shape).

Also as you get into guitar more, the other positions for D chord may work better for you to get a "bigger" D chord. I even tune to D Standard so my open E chord becomes a D chord (is that cheating?)

[numtumfutunch]

Many thanks again everyone

Have had a good day today and I completely get that it's practice however part of my frustration was it's the third chord in the program so I figured should be straightforward

All the above has been taken in and digested
My fingers aren't particularly wide but are soft and wussy, suspect some toughening up will help too

PH has it's moments and it's "characters" however things like this are one of the reasons I'm a member

Cheers

EDIT: have just noticed how much the string indents my finger tip thus making it wider which is *probably* significant. I work with my hands but they've had a sheltered life, need to toughen up and get callous

Edited by numtumfutunch on Thursday 28th October 18:51

[Mave]

Nothing to add to all the advice above, but well done for getting stuck in and learning

[TCX]

D major perfect chord for using sus2 and 4 shapes,also try using shape further up neck,also try using bar chords

[cherryowen]

WoolyFox said:

I still struggle with F chord (the half Barre chord shape).

As a beginner, barre chords are an utter biatch.

What I did back in the day to assist was to fret an open E using the middle, third, and little finger. Then move that shape up a fret, and bar my index finger across fret #1.

[dojo]

numtumfutunch said:

Many thanks again everyone

Have had a good day today and I completely get that it's practice however part of my frustration was it's the third chord in the program so I figured should be straightforward

All the above has been taken in and digested
My fingers aren't particularly wide but are soft and wussy, suspect some toughening up will help too

PH has it's moments and it's "characters" however things like this are one of the reasons I'm a member

Cheers

EDIT: have just noticed how much the string indents my finger tip thus making it wider which is *probably* significant. I work with my hands but they've had a sheltered life, need to toughen up and get callous

Edited by numtumfutunch on Thursday 28th October 18:51

If you're still struggling try to drop your wrist, keeping thumb in the centre of the back of the next pointing upwards. keep your knuckles infront of the fretboard and ensure that all fingers are playing with the very tip and 90 degrees to the neck.

Lots of people will play D with thumb wrapped around the top of neck and more of a baseball bat grip. But if you're ever struggling for clarity or precision its always worth to adopt 'correct' position and give yourself the best fighting chance.

Once you achieve a nice clear chord you can start to look at a less formal hand position

[RedAndy]

As a completely alternative alternative, get into metal, then drop bottom E to a D, then play one finger 3-string powerchords with too much distortion/overdrive. Sounds way better anyway.