In this lesson, you’ll learn 5 new chords in the D chord group. Take your time with each of these chords. Soon, you’ll need to play these chords on demand. You’ll want to instantly be able to recall them by name- as with all the chords we have learned or will learn. That means a lot of repetition. Practice, practice, practice!
The D Chord
The D chord is formed like this:
- Leave the D string open (we won’t be playing the low E or A string in any of our D chords)
- Place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the G string
- Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the B string
- Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string
D
Remember, you will not strum the low E string of the A string. You’ll only strum strings D, G, B, and high E.
The D Seventh Chord
The D7 looks similar to the D chord but will require a little juggling of the fingers.
Form the D7 like so:
- Leave the D string open
- Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the G string
- Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the B string
- Place your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string
The D Minor Chord
Here’s another minor chord for you to learn. Remember, minor chords sound a bit sad.
Here’s how to form the D minor chord (labeled as ‘Dm’):
- Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the G string
- Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the B string
- Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the high E string
The D Major Seventh Chord
Here we are with our last D chord. It’s the D major seventh and is labeled as DM7.
To form it create a barre with your 1st finger across the 2nd fret of the G, B, and high E strings. You’ve got to press hard enough so that all three notes sound clearly. It’s not easy to do the first couple of times you try to do it.
Your Assignment
- We’ve learned a lot of chord shapes so far, so please recap the chord groups we’ve covered so far
- We’ve covered the E, C, and D chord groups so far- upcoming is the A and G chord groups – do you remember how to play Em, CM7, or D7?