Beginner Guitar Exercises: Add a 3rd chord and play a full chord progression

Now we’re going to add the D chord to our progression. This is slightly more tricky as it requires 3 fingers to fret and 4 strings to play. Changing between chords is one of the trickiest things for a new guitarist to learn, so we’ve broken it down so that you only need to make a simple change each time.

First, form the D Major shape with your fingers above the strings, with your index finger on the high E string, your ring finger on the G string and your middle finger on the B string. Then, move the entire shape up one fret and push down with your index finger only on the high E string. 

Build muscle memory

Fret and strum the D chord. Slowly lighten your finger pressure until the chord stops sounding. Re-press and strum. Repeat this 10 times. Next, slowly lift your fingers off the strings, while maintaining the shape with your fingers. Hover over the strings and then place all your fingers down simultaneously to fret and strum the D. Repeat. The goal is to be able to form the shape with your fingers before putting them down. 

Try This Out

Strum the G chord using the top 4 strings of the guitar.

To move from G to C, slide the whole shape down and fret the C chord using only your ring finger on the B string, first fret. This might look a bit strange but it will make it much easier to transition to the D chord. Strum the C chord using the top 3 strings of the guitar. 

To play the D chord, all you need to do now is move the entire shape up again 2 frets. Keeping your fingers in this position makes these transitions easier, because you are not rearranging your fingers to form new shapes, you are simply moving one shape around and fretting with different fingers. Strum the D chord using the top 4 strings of the guitar.

Be honest. How well do you actually know your guitar neck?

  • Total blur: I rely completely on tabs and basic open chords.

  • Getting there: I know the top two strings, but the middle of the neck is a mystery.

  • Mostly solid: I know my scale shapes, but I still get lost during solos.

  • 20/20 vision: The whole neck makes complete sense to me.

If you didn't pick the last option, don't sweat it. Most of us have spent way too long stuck in the exact same spot.

We set up the NoisyClan community specifically to help players break past those brick walls and actually make sense of the neck. Drop by to ask questions, trade tips, and work through it with a group of guitarists on the same page.

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