A Guide for Beginners - Minor Chords - Page 4

by Christopher Sung The D Minor Chord
The fingering for a D Minor is shown below:

Thus, the chart for the D Minor chord above tells us the following:

• 1st String - Put your index finger on the 1st fret
• 2nd String - Put your ring finger on the 3rd fret
• 3rd String - Put your middle finger on the 2nd fret
• 4th String - Play it open
• 5th String - Don't play it
• 6th String - Don't play it

So try it out. Put your fingers in place and strum it. It's OK if some notes don't ring. That's natural. If you like, you can let the 5th string ring as well as it fits in with a D Minor chord. The only reason I didn't include it in the chart is that, in general, chords sound best when the lowest note that you play is the same note as the root of the chord. That is to say, if you are playing a D Minor chord, the lowest note you should hear is a 'D'. This is the case if you don't play the 5th string, because the lowest note of the chord is the open 4th string, which is a 'D'. The open 5th string that can optionally be played is an 'A'. This observation may be more information than you needed to know. If it sounds good, then play it.

You should also notice that it's a little easier to play than the D Major chord. If you recall how a D Major chord is played, note that the only difference between these two chords is that the note played on the 1st string for a D Minor is one fret lower than that for a D Major. You might want to alternate playing a D Major and then a D Minor so you can really hear the difference between the two, as well as understanding how your fingering has to change between chords.

Try playing the music example below, set your loop count to "Forever" in your preferences at the bottom of the page, hit the play button, wait for the music to start, and try to play along with the example. It'll help you become more comfortable with the chord.