How to play a D Major Chord

After a bit of a hiatus, I am glad to be back writing guitar tips.  I really appreciate everyone who commented that they were missing them.

So, how do you play a D Major chord?  (This is for both beginners and advanced guitarists).

Simple, put your second finger on the second fret of the first string,

put your third finger on the third fret on the second string,

put your first finger on the second fret on the third string

and finally strum four strings and tadda…. you’re done.  How does it sound???

Or, are we just, really beginning?  Let’s go to stage two…

Are you on your fingertips?  Because if even one finger is flat, it effects the sound of the chord.. like a flat third finger could be blocking the first string.  Or if it is really flat it could even be blocking the third string!

Why play on your fingertips?

Okay, so you have mastered the D chord and you are flat-fingered as heck and your thumb is rolling off the top of  the guitar neck and you don’t see any problems with this technique.  Sure no problem, if you want to spend your life playing the same basic chords over and over.  But what if your new favourite song moves to a  Bm7flat5???

Let’s go to stage three…

By playing on your fingertips and remembering not to apply more pressure than you need to, you are giving yourself the gift to move forward and quickly to the next chord at any tempo.  Make a few slight changes and the world opens up for you again and again.

Can you believe there is actually a stage four….

Practice landing your fingers all at the same time.  Now, this is a tough one!  But it comes from the classical guitar world and is a great exercise.  Try placing only two fingers down at the same time and practice all the possible combinations  fingers 12,23,13.  When it feels good, try all three fingers. Practice all your chords this way.

Stage five…

After years of playing the D chord, strange finger figurations will begin to happen.  In essence all that is okay as long as you are getting a good sound.  But part of becoming better is striking a fine balance between accepting odd techniques and the ability to always move forward.  If you are feeling like you haven’t moved forward in a long time, something as simple as playing your third finger completely on its fingertip on a D chord can make a remarkable difference in the rest of your playing!

Stay Tuned,

Stephen Zurakowsky

Artistic Director