I am working on Wish You Were here lesson and everything is pretty much going great...EXCEPT that darn D chord! :twisted: I don't know what's worse..the D chord or the F chord (I am also working on Night Moves by Bob Seger and the progression is G F quick C then F then quick G (if that makes sense)) Here's an example:
G G G G F C C C C F
e---3---3---3---3-0-0---0---0---0-0---|
b---3---3---3---3-1-1---1---1---1-1---|
g---0---0---0---0-2-0---0---0---0-2---|
d---0---0---0---0-3-2---2---2---2-3---|
a---2---2---2---2-0-3---3---3---3-0---|
e---3---3---3---3-x-x---x---x---x-x---|
Anyway...I am SOOO close with Wish You Were Here...but its that D chord that still reminds me that I am a beginer! Otherwise I sound almost like David in his lesson...
Now I know what you are going to say..."It will come!" "Take your time." I know..I guess I am just venting again...at least this time I don't feel like slamming the guitar! So I guess that means I am getting better....LOL!
D is one of the chords begginers have trouble with including myself.
It did come fairly quickly. F took longer especially full barre and I am still struggling with Bm.
Hey one hurtle at a time right? :roll:
How are you trying to finger it. The easiest way is index on the third string (G) 2nd fret, middle on the first string(e) 2nd fret and ring on the second string(B) 3rd fret. Put the fingers on the strings, strum it, remove the fingers and then set them back down again and strum it again. Do this about a 1000 times and you will have it.
This also gives you a pretty easy change to the A because you won't have to remove the index finger
Sorry I guess I didn't say it right...I know HOW to do the D chord (the way you discribed Nils) its just it won't "progress" right during the progression...I can play the D chord all day until I am blue in the face...but trying to change to it...I think I'd have better luck figuring out how to fly the shuttle!!
Just in case that was what you meant is why I threw in the finger it 1000 times comment. Gets the finger memory for how to plop the fingers down.
I just did like 100 chord changes C D C D C D C D C D etc. (one of the progressions in Wish You Were Here) until the grooves in my finger tips are to the bone!! I'll do another set in a minute...then it will be D G D G D G D G etc. If I get that then I will have the whole lesson complete!! Now I know its not the whole song but a good chunk of it. I want to be able to do it all by heart before moving to the next part of the song (lesson 2)
Remember that you leave a lot of patterns intact during these switches.
C: x32010
D: xx0232
Your middle and ring fingers just move over 3 strings, but they still play on second and third fret, respectively. Your first finger moves over one fret and up one string. Don't lift your fingers too far above the fretboard during the change, or else you lose this link.
In the G to D switch, your ring finger stays planted, and you just have to change up your first two fingers and lift your pinky.
Also, since these chords share a lot of the same notes, you might be able to cheat a little on the upstrokes where you are changing chords by starting to move your fingers early. It may sound convincing enough.
~Sam
When I learn a new chord, sometimes I do it in parts to get the feel for it and the shape so I can do it blind sooner.
I remember with D, I used to put the middle finger down first, then the other 2 fingers would fall into place instead of trying to form it in mid-air and just land right on accident, or not. Know what I mean?
If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.
I did it that way at first but before long (this will be you too, believe me) i was able to plop a D chord down at will from anywhere.
You are practicing G,D,G,D and C,D,C,D then try G,D,C,D,G,D,C,D when you get that down just add a simple rythm D,DU,UDU and you have most of Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison :D
I always try to find an anchor point within any chord progression to make the changes easier/quicker. Kind of like E to A to D you never have to lift your index finger just slide it around a little.
However, there isn't always one there so the next best thing is finding common finger shapes. Lie E to Am.
Then the next option is to change the fingering to suit the next or prior chord to make it easier. Like fingering the G 1,2,3 or 2,3,4
But in the end it is best if you can get to any chord from anywhere without hardly thinking about it. I practice doing random changes even between chords that are in different keys just to build the hand memory. No, that is not part of my daily routine just a fill when I don't feel like thinking.
LIke Nils said earlier..for me its just repetition. I just have to stop the song and just start practicing C D C D C D C D .....over and over until I get it...it will eventually become second nature...that's just how I learn.
I remember back whe nI was a bodybuilder and I was switching over to powerlifting and no matter what I did I couldn't get my bench press over 400lbs...I tried everything...and nothing...eventually I just kept coming to the gym and trying 400lbs over and over (not all in one day!)..eventually I was able to do 435lbs! Just the repetition until your body gets used to it...
Even though its frustrating I have to admit I have come far in 1 months time (Monday will be one month!)...thanks to all that help me here!!
When I was into weight lifting I hit 400 pounds in the first week. Fifty the first day, 50 the 2nd day, 100 the third day and another 100 on the 4th day, and 100 the 5th day. Shame I couldn't do it all at once :lol:
Mike
I know this is late in the thread but you are not indicating what the problem is with the D chord. Are you not coming down on the correct frets? Or is one of your fingers damping one of the neighboring strings? Different problems.
As for Night Moves with the quick G to F to C you might try playing it with barre chords. The G to F would be the same chord shape only two frets back and the C, while slightly different shaped is right below the G. If you don't know them it would be a great time to learn. From reading your posts you obviously are dedicated enough to put in the practice required.
Michael
Playing an instrument is good for your soul
I know this may be bad advice, but I use dsus2 middle finger on G 2nd fret and pinky on B 3rd fret if you strum or play the A through B strings it sounds like a D, it also leaves your first and ring finger open for D7 and D minor...its cheating a bit, I will want to learn the regular D someday, but right now I see no need too
I just did like 100 chord changes C D C D C D C D C D etc. (one of the progressions in Wish You Were Here) until the grooves in my finger tips are to the bone!! I'll do another set in a minute...then it will be D G D G D G D G etc. If I get that then I will have the whole lesson complete!! Now I know its not the whole song but a good chunk of it. I want to be able to do it all by heart before moving to the next part of the song (lesson 2)
I am a new player working on this same song and have done something very similar (C -> D -> C -> D etc) over and over for hours. It is getting better, but still isn't there 100%. In my case though, I find the D to be pretty easy, it's getting that darn C that's tricky!
