Lauren Bateman shows how to play D major by moving from E minor: shift your first finger to the 3rd string 2nd fret, second finger to the 1st string 2nd fret, and add your third finger on the 2nd string 3rd fret. Practice transitions between E minor, C, and G at 40 bpm.
Hello and welcome back to the next video. In this one we're going to learn our first three fingered chord, which is a D chord. So hopefully at this point you have memorized your E minor, your C and your G chord and can switch between those chord changes at about 40 beats per minute. Because that means at least we're starting to get some dexterity into our fingers. So let me show you how to do this chord. I'll show you zoomed out first and then we'll go in for the close up. So the easiest way to learn how to get in and out of a D chord is to start with E minor. So everything on these first four chords is based around E minor. So start with E minor. So you have your first finger on the fifth string, second fret, your second finger on the fourth string, second fret. And what I want you to do is move both of these fingers down. So the first finger is going to come to the third string and the second finger is going to come to the first string. So they're both staying in that second fret. Let's go back to E minor again. So back to E minor. All right, lift up the fingers, put the first finger on the second fret, third string, and the second finger on the first string, second fret. And what we're going to do is now we're going to add our third finger on the second string, third fret, and we can play the bottom four strings. Now don't be, you know, don't be upset if when you're strumming, you hear this probably means you're playing on the pads of your fingers instead of your fingertips. That's why these three finger chords sometimes are tricky, because sometimes we'll mute strings. So again, if we go back to E minor and we take our first finger down to the third string fret, the second finger to the second fret, first string, and our third finger is going to come to the second string, third fret. We can strum the bottom four strings.
We have a beautiful D chord. Usually when you're strumming, if you hear this kind of muting going on, a lot of the times with the D chord, it's because the third finger is resting on this bottom string. For a lot of people, that's usually the finger that's the problem finger for the D chord. So just make sure that the knuckle on this third finger is bent so that you're playing on your fingertips. The other thing, make sure you're not playing the guitar at a crazy Angle that it's lying flat. Straighten out your guitar so that you're playing. I know it makes it harder to see the strings, but it'll help you play your chords better. And don't forget the pencil tip. Make sure your your hand is not hugging the bottom of this neck and not providing any spin space underneath the fingers here. So those are a couple tips, but it's usually the third finger that's the problem finger for the D chord. But practice going between E minor and D and soon enough you'll have it Very good. It's a great sounding chord. So let's go in for a close up quickly so that I can show you how to get between the E minor and the D chord. Okay. Welcome to the close up of the D chord. We're going to start with that E minor chord that we know and love so much. And the easiest way to get to the D chord is to take this E minor, move the first finger down to the third string and move the second finger down to the bottom string. Both of them are staying in the second fret. So go back to E minor to get to D. First finger down to the third string, second finger down to the first string. Let's try that one more time. Back to E minor.
First finger down to the third string, second finger down to the first string. And then the third finger is going to come on this second string, third fre.
And like I said, the problem finger is usually this third one lies flat. And we mute this bottom string here. So try. See how my knuckle is bent? Try and get that knuckle to bend. I know that's going to be hard in the beginning, but try and get that knuckle to bend and try to make sure there's space under your fingers for your guitar. See, you want to be able to make sure there's space underneath. Alright, so let's try that again. Back to E minor. And we're going to take the first finger down to the third str. The second finger down to the bottom string and the third finger comes on the third fret. Second string. Play the bottom four strings one more time. Back to E minor.
And then to D. Third string, first string, second string, third fret.
So there you have it. That is your E minor and your D chord. And now what I want you to do is I want you to add this D chord into the mix with your chord changes. So use your chord changing chart and you're going to start practicing E minor to D. C to D, G to D so you're going to add those chord changes into the mix. And now that we have these four chords under our belt, you have just unlocked thousands of songs that you can actually play. There's a lot of beginner songs that use just these four chords. You can actually visit my website, laurenbateman.com where I have a lot of chord charts, and I've organized some of them into the chords that they use, and there's quite a few that just use these four chords or versions of these four chords. So practice hard. What I want you to do is I want you to work on all of those chord changes. E minor to C, E minor to G, E minor to D, C to G. Right. C to D, and G to D. I want you to practice all those chord changes, and you're not allowed to learn another chord until we get Those up to 100 beats per minute on your metronome. All right? Really want you to practice, get Those up to 100 beats per minute, and then you can move on and learn the full versions of the C and the G chord.
