D chord struggle

[Del]

hi all
i wonder if anyone can help
so i am a begginer and old ish, my problem is making the d chord quickly
i am changing from A to D but my 3rd finger does not hit the string the same time as my1st & 2nd there is a delay its just like it wants to stay with my 2nd finger and not move until a few seconds later.
i have tried all the youtube videos on how to progress and practising every day for 2 months now to no avail
is this a common problem ? could it be my age ?
any help would be appreciated
ps i have tried to slide my 3rd finger down from the A chord followed by 1st and 2nd a fraction faster but not as clear and dosnt feel right
cheers
Del

[emtsteve]

look at JustinGuitar.com and he shows how to play A to D with your first finger as an anchor on the G string, then it's just practice, slowly at first then speed it up gradually

[theblues88]

Start practicing forming the chord first with the slowest finger. Along with that keep doing some technical exercises focusing on the left hand (dont even need to strum or play with the right hand. Just practice deliberately moving your fingers)

[JPCary]

justinguitar has an app that is called one minute changes. you can practice all chord changes and time how many changes you can get in a minute. you can set it to whatever chords you want OR focus on D OR just problem chords. Try to make the chords perfect, then try to beat your record of changes per minute

[Deliberate1]

The most improtant thing to know, and believe, is that you will get there. And once you do, with perserverence, what your fingers learn will be cemented. And then you get to move on to the next thing. There is always a next thing. I can say this with experience. I picked up a guitar for the first time at 62. That was four years ago. I faced the very challenge that now stumps you, and so many others, like reaching for the open G7 chord. But that came, too. Now, four years later, I am playing fingerstyle compositions, some of which I wrote.

If I can share one bit of advice, which I constantly return to, is to pay close attention to the process of moving from one chord to another. Not just being on one chord, and then being on another. It is the transition I am talking about. When I face the problem you describe, I focus on getting off the moving chord as soon as possible, but without shortsheeting it. Once you hit a chord, it will sound. So get off it. Do not wait until the next beat to make the move. Even a fraction of a second can make an enormous differerence when getting to the next chord on time, and cleanly. So, perhaps just practice getting off the D as fast as you can, wthout even worrying about where you are going. And then, practice the move to the destination keeping the fingers as low and movement as economical as possible.

Also consider whether the fingering of the first chord can be configured in a way that makes the move to the next chord easier. Especially if you can keep a finger down when the two chords have notes in common.

Know that some transtions can be made without laying down all the fingers at the same time. If I am moving to an open B7, for example, I may lay the fingers down in a sequence, rather than simultaneously.

Most of all, keep at it. As frustrating as it can be, the sense of satisfaction will be worth it. Wish you well.
David

[cliff_the_stiff]

Sometimes I’ll barre the 1-4 strings second fret and not play the 1/e, to move to D Move the barre to 1-3 and put the ring finger on 2nd string 3rd fret.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Del

hi all
i wonder if anyone can help
so i am a begginer and old ish, my problem is making the d chord quickly
i am changing from A to D but my 3rd finger does not hit the string the same time as my1st & 2nd there is a delay its just like it wants to stay with my 2nd finger and not move until a few seconds later.
i have tried all the youtube videos on how to progress and practising every day for 2 months now to no avail
is this a common problem ? could it be my age ?
any help would be appreciated
ps i have tried to slide my 3rd finger down from the A chord followed by 1st and 2nd a fraction faster but not as clear and dosnt feel right
cheers
Del

Hi Del, don't worry about this - changing from one chord to another is a hurdle for many.

Firstly, I'd suggest that you learn to fret both chords correctly.

Most name their fingers thusly : 1st (index) 2nd (longest- middle) 3rd (ring) and 4th (pinky).

Strings are numbered from the thinnest one (1st) and the thickest one (6th) so 1= (top) e, 2= b string, 3= G string)
4 = D, 5 = A, and 6th = (bass) E.
We refer to frets as the one that you are pressing down behind.

The D chord should be done with

Index - 2nd fret, 3rd string (that's your g string).
Middle - 2nd fret, 1st string,
Ring - 3rd fret 2nd string
un fretted - open - 4th string.

See Justin's short video : https://youtu.be/yh6sPqDEZCY

To fret the A chord :


1st string open/unfretted
ring - 2nd string 2nd fret
index - 2nd fret 3rd string.
middle - 2nd fret - 4th string
5th string - open.

See : https://youtu.be/VkkOFLouQDs

Now, the "secret"!!

Finger them both slowly until you can make each note sound cleanly. (there will be some frustrating
buzzing - keep finger tips as close behind the frets as possible, and don't press too hard (makes your fingertips fatter!)

Yu will probably be doing this by the "laying on of fingers" i,e, one at a time.

Learn to fret the shapes in one movement.

Then to put this into your "muscle memory rather than visual memory change from one to the other WITHOUT looking! (even better - in the dark or with your eyes closed!)

Don't worry it WILL get easier - just keep at it.

If you'd like one to one guidance - via zoom ... see below.

[Del]

Originally Posted by emtsteve

look at JustinGuitar.com and he shows how to play A to D with your first finger as an anchor on the G string, then it's just practice, slowly at first then speed it up gradually

many thanks i will try Justin

[Del]

Originally Posted by theblues88

Start practicing forming the chord first with the slowest finger. Along with that keep doing some technical exercises focusing on the left hand (dont even need to strum or play with the right hand. Just practice deliberately moving your fingers)

Thankyou for your advice
Del

[Del]

Originally Posted by JPCary

justinguitar has an app that is called one minute changes. you can practice all chord changes and time how many changes you can get in a minute. you can set it to whatever chords you want OR focus on D OR just problem chords. Try to make the chords perfect, then try to beat your record of changes per minute

many thanks i have seen this and will try
Del

[Del]

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

The most improtant thing to know, and believe, is that you will get there. And once you do, with perserverence, what your fingers learn will be cemented. And then you get to move on to the next thing. There is always a next thing. I can say this with experience. I picked up a guitar for the first time at 62. That was four years ago. I faced the very challenge that now stumps you, and so many others, like reaching for the open G7 chord. But that came, too. Now, four years later, I am playing fingerstyle compositions, some of which I wrote.

If I can share one bit of advice, which I constantly return to, is to pay close attention to the process of moving from one chord to another. Not just being on one chord, and then being on another. It is the transition I am talking about. When I face the problem you describe, I focus on getting off the moving chord as soon as possible, but without shortsheeting it. Once you hit a chord, it will sound. So get off it. Do not wait until the next beat to make the move. Even a fraction of a second can make an enormous differerence when getting to the next chord on time, and cleanly. So, perhaps just practice getting off the D as fast as you can, wthout even worrying about where you are going. And then, practice the move to the destination keeping the fingers as low and movement as economical as possible.

Also consider whether the fingering of the first chord can be configured in a way that makes the move to the next chord easier. Especially if you can keep a finger down when the two chords have notes in common.

Know that some transtions can be made without laying down all the fingers at the same time. If I am moving to an open B7, for example, I may lay the fingers down in a sequence, rather than simultaneously.

Most of all, keep at it. As frustrating as it can be, the sense of satisfaction will be worth it. Wish you well.
David

Listening to you and helpfull many thanks
Del

[Del]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Hi Del, don't worry about this - changing from one chord to another is a hurdle for many.

Firstly, I'd suggest that you learn to fret both chords correctly.

Most name their fingers thusly : 1st (index) 2nd (longest- middle) 3rd (ring) and 4th (pinky).

Strings are numbered from the thinnest one (1st) and the thickest one (6th) so 1= (top) e, 2= b string, 3= G string)
4 = D, 5 = A, and 6th = (bass) E.
We refer to frets as the one that you are pressing down behind.

The D chord should be done with

Index - 2nd fret, 3rd string (that's your g string).
Middle - 2nd fret, 1st string,
Ring - 3rd fret 2nd string
un fretted - open - 4th string.

See Justin's short video : https://youtu.be/yh6sPqDEZCY

To fret the A chord :


1st string open/unfretted
ring - 2nd string 2nd fret
index - 2nd fret 3rd string.
middle - 2nd fret - 4th string
5th string - open.

See : https://youtu.be/VkkOFLouQDs

Now, the "secret"!!

Finger them both slowly until you can make each note sound cleanly. (there will be some frustrating
buzzing - keep finger tips as close behind the frets as possible, and don't press too hard (makes your fingertips fatter!)

Yu will probably be doing this by the "laying on of fingers" i,e, one at a time.

Learn to fret the shapes in one movement.

Then to put this into your "muscle memory rather than visual memory change from one to the other WITHOUT looking! (even better - in the dark or with your eyes closed!)

Don't worry it WILL get easier - just keep at it.

If you'd like one to one guidance - via zoom ... see below.

well i have had a lot of advice on here so thanks a lot S M off i go to try
Del

I will suggest looking at the different voicings, or ways, to make a D major chord. The open D, down on the second and third fret is just one of many ways.

https://onlineguitarbooks.com/d-chord/

That website is a fabulous resource. I refer to it constantly.

More help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JVVYMoLycA

Also:
Relax and Learn Guitar with Kevin DePew who is active on these forums has wonderful tutorials that are easy to follow and lots of fun!
https://www.youtube.com/@Relaxandlearnguitar/featured

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Del

hi all
i wonder if anyone can help
so i am a begginer and old ish, my problem is making the d chord quickly
i am changing from A to D but my 3rd finger does not hit the string the same time as my1st & 2nd there is a delay its just like it wants to stay with my 2nd finger and not move until a few seconds later.
i have tried all the youtube videos on how to progress and practising every day for 2 months now to no avail
is this a common problem ? could it be my age ?
any help would be appreciated
ps i have tried to slide my 3rd finger down from the A chord followed by 1st and 2nd a fraction faster but not as clear and dosnt feel right
cheers
Del

What you need to develop is a bit more finger dexterity and just forming chords isn't doing enough for you.

Along with the suggestions to form the chord, you should do some "worm" exercises i.e. fret the 1st string one note at a time, 1st fret, 2nd fret, 3rd fret, 4th fret with each finger - index, middle, ring, pinky and then go back down again (try to keep the fingers fairly close to the fretboard after you play the note and lift them up). Do this on each string from the 1st to the 4th and back again. Try to spend about 5-10 minutes with this exercise a few times a week.

As you gain dexterity there's a bunch of other things you can do for finger dexterity beyond this worm exercise that will benefit you.

[dnf777]

If all the great advice above doesnt work….just call it a hammer-on, and voila! Success!