Beginner Questions

[Obie]

Hi Mike,

I have arthritis and find the D chord to be challenging. I know that if I do a bar chord on the 7th fret that is also a D chord. Even though the 7th fret is a way to travel, is it acceptable or even practical to use the bar chord in lieu of the standard D chord.

Any tips you have on the D chord are appreciated. And thanks for always being here for us!

Thanks!

Obie

[Mike]

Obie,

Thanks for your question.

Sure you can certainly use the 7th fret barre D chord if you want.

But you’re correct, there’s certain songs where that would be a pretty big jump to get all the way up the 7th fret and back down quickly.

A couple other D chords to try (starting with the easiest).

1. One finger D chord (2nd fret/3rd string) commonly used in a lot of lead songs. You can let the “band” play the rest of the chord.

2. Two finger D chord (2nd fret/3rd string and 3rd fret/2nd string). This is another one I use a lot. Much easier to play than a 4 finger D chord but still works great for most songs.

3. Three finger D chord. (Same as 2 finger D but add your pinky on 4th fret/1st string). This is another one you can do if you feel that adding your 4th finger makes the D chord more difficult.

If you have any other questions let me know. Thanks!

Best,
Mike

[Obie]

Thank you Mike. You are always very clear with your explanations and you always provide workable options.

[Obie]

Oh, I forgot, I have a suggestion. In your lessons you have the options to sort alphabetically, oldest to newest, etc. Is it at all possible to sort by your suggested progression of lessons for beginners? It is a little overwhelming to go through all the lessons and figure out where to start and where to go from there.

Another alternative to “sort” would be to just offer a PDF of the order of lessons you recommend.

Thank you again!

Obie

[Mike]

Yes I already offer this option!

If you go to https://mikeheddingmusic.com/guided/ you can enroll in any of the courses and it will show my recommended way to work through the lessons.

Once you enroll in any of the courses you’ll also see a drop-down menu on the lesson pages that will allow you to see the order of the lessons and jump around between them.

If you have any more questions let me know.

-Mike

[Dan Holbrook]

Hello. I too have problems making 4 finger chords and also some 3 finger chords. I’ve been working on using 2 finger and bar chords instead. Because I’m a beginner I’m not sure if what I’m doing always works, but most of the time I figure out something that will work. I had an accident to my left hand so I can’t use my index finger on many chords or notes. I use my little finger, ring finger and middle fingers mostly. Obie, thank you for your comments because it helps to see that I’m not the only one with physical problems. Thanks again,Dan.

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