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Old 10-05-2017, 09:09 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RockyRacc00n View Post
I am not sure what this chord is called. I suppose it’s some variation of the D chord. Here is a video of it being used in Norwegian Wood tutorial.
Those notes are part of the melody (not the chord)*. He's playing the tune and the chord(s) at the same time.
The 4th frets (in 3rd and 4th string) are not played all the time, only when that notes occur in the melody. Likewise the open G string, the E on 4th string, and C and B on 5th string.

* In fact the F# on 4th string IS part of the D chord, but you wouldn't normally add it to the x-x-0-2-3-2 shape.
But try this shape (as another exercise for your pinky): x-5-4-2-3-x. It's the "C" shape, and can be moved anywhere on the neck, for any major chord you want. You should be able to barre the top 3 strings to get the 1st string too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RockyRacc00n View Post
I can’t get my pinky to move this way. I know pinky strength is something everyone has to work on and I continue to work on this but I wanted to know what some of your experience was in getting to the point where you were able to move the pinky this way. And it’s not just with the D chord. I see pinky being used this way with other chords.

The problem I have is that the pinky curls in towards the ring finger... probably a common occurrence but how do you get it to not do that.

I do a bunch of spider walk exercises and I can do those pretty OK without the pinky being a problem. But this pinky thing while holding a chord is probably a whole another thing and wanted to see if I can get some advice from you guys here.
Sorry it's a boringly predictable answer, but it's practice.

Playing guitar is not something humans have evolved to do, but our hands have evolved to be immensely adaptable tools. They can be trained. I don't know old you are, but it's a sad fact that the older you are the longer it takes to teach your hands new tricks. Kids and teenagers rarely have this kind of problem. The older you get, the more your hands get used to the everyday tasks they perform, and the less they like to be introduced to new things. But the potential is still there. You just have to be firm and repetitive. Fingers are stupid: don't expect them to do what you ask straight away. You have to tell them over and over...

One way of building up pinky strength and flexibility is - when playing anything (chord or melody) employing the pinky - to always start with the pinky. Get the pinky in place first, making it comfortable; then arrange the other fingers. I.e., lead with your pinky as much as you can. Also practice hammer-ons with the pinky - from open strings to any fret, or 3 frets above where your index is fretting. (Don't overdo it though; little and often is best.)
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