Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Open D Major Chord and Chord Diversity


There's something about the shape of the standard open D major chord that causes your fretting hand to be in such an ideal position to embellish with the chord, using other related chords. This is not an exhaustive list, so feel free to use your imagination:

Dsus2: Lift your middle finger and let the open High E string ring with the rest of the chord.
Dsus4: Place your pinky finger on the High E string, 3rd fret.
D6: Place your pinky finger on the G string, 4th fret.
D6: Lift your ring finger and let the open B string ring with the rest of the chord.
D/F#: Place your pinky finger on the D string, 4th fret.
D/F#: Place your thumb on the Low E string, 2nd fret. Use the tip of your thumb to mute the A string (or not) and strum all six strings.
D/A: Add the A string with the rest of the D major chord.

Et cetera, et cetera...

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