Guitar Tricks Online Guitar Lessons

D Major Embellishments

 
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First let's check out an easy, but super powerful embellishment for our open D chord. All we do is lift off our middle finger, so the E string rings open. Try going back and forth between the two.

Another thing you can do is to add your pinky in the 3rd fret of the high E string. Try going back and forth between the basic chord and adding the pinky.

Instructor Anders Mouridsen
Tutorial:
Chord Embellishments
Styles:
Any Style
Difficulty:
print notation download lesson open guitar tuner
D Major Embellishments song notation

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Questions & Answers

2 months ago
Will we be taught on a later lesson the meaning of these suspended versions of chords or are we expected to study music theory separately on our own? I would like to understand why lifting my middle finger changes the D chord to a Dsus2, and I would like to understand this for the other chord variations. However, I am not trying to get ahead of the teaching material.
Mike Olekshy 2 months ago

Hey there - thanks so much for your question! Yes, if you continue on from the Fundamentals Course into either the Rock, Blues, Country, or Acoustic course, the suspended chords will be taught in greater depth. A suspended chord is when you replace the "third" of the chord with either the "second" or the "fourth". With the D chord, for example, the 3rd is the F# note on the 2nd fret of the high E string. In this case, it is more completely know as the "major third" - and it's the note that makes the D chord sound major. When you change that note to either G (1 fret above the F# note, also known as the "fourth"), or E (2 frets down from F#, also known as the "second), the chord doesn't sound major anymore - but rather, sounds unresolved - hence the word "suspended". Hope this helps!!

8 months ago
Having a tough time getting that pinkie on the high E in the dsus4 chord. I noticed that Ander’s pinkie comes down @ 90 degrees to the high E whereas mine squeezes in from the side creating poor contact with that string as well as pushing my ring finger on the B string which then mutes the G string. I don’t have big hands or fat fingers so is this just a matter of weak fingers, particularly the pinkie?
Mike Olekshy 8 months ago

Hey there - thanks so much for the question! If you're having trouble getting that pinky onto the fret to make a clean G note, it is mostly because the pinky is a little weak and cannot scooch into the optimal position yet. One thing to try is to remove the middle finger from the 2nd fret to see if you can get the pinky in there better. Otherwise, it may just be a matter of drilling this chord shape for a few minutes at a time every practice session to try and loosen up those pinky muscles. Another exercise to work on pinky strength is to fret the 5th fret of the high E string with your index finger, play that note, and then stretch over with your pinky to the 8th fret of the high E string and try to play that note. If that feels super wide and uncomfortable, then put the pinky on the 7th fret and play the note. Do this back and forth for a few minutes, and that will start to strengthen up the pinky. Hope this helps!! Keep at it - you'll get it!!

1 year ago
Hello Guitar Tricks team! On the first D I see on the notation and on the tab that we should also ring an open A string. On the very handy tools you provide and I am referring to the chord chart as well on the the chord finder there is no open string. Could you please elaborate? Thank you!!
Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hello - thanks so much for your question! Adding the open A string with the D chord is optional, and used commonly to make the chord sound a little bit bigger and thicker. The D chord consists of the notes: D F# and A, so adding in the open A string doesn't change the chord at all - it just adds a lower octave A note to it. Some chord charts do not show the open A string as part of the chord, while others will. Either way, you still have an open D major chord. Hope this helps!