This lesson is about the open cowboy chord shapes D & Dm.
You can move them along the fretboard to create awesome sounds.
The best part: You already know how to play them. So, you’ll gain a lot for minimal effort.
Enjoy!
This beginner lesson features…
… 6 D & Dm lookalike chords.
… 6 ways to get fantastic, additional sounds out of D & Dm.
… 6 real-world applications (you can instantly enjoy playing).
You can download the tabs by clicking here (search for ‘HG27 – How to Sound Skilled on Guitar (Even if You’re Not There Yet)’).
Download it. Print it. Use it.
In this video, you can listen to it, you can watch me play it, and I’ll teach you through it:
And here is everything else you need to know. Enjoy!
📈 Difficulty
2/10 (This gives you a rough idea of how difficult it is. If you feel it’s actually easier, great. If not, don’t feel bad.)
⏰ Time Estimation
3 Days (This is a rough estimation that can vary widely. If you’re faster, great. If not, don’t feel bad.)
💪 Action Steps
Get comfortable with all the positions you can move the chord shapes D & Dm to (see free tabs).
Jump randomly around within these positions. This way, you get them better into your ears and under your fingers.
Play around with lifting the middle/index finger to open up the high E string.
Play around with adding the pinky to the high E string.
Use slides to connect positions (which will make you sound extra skilled).
Use pull-offs as an effect (again, which will make you sound extra skilled).
Along the way, play all real-world applications (see free tabs).
Create your own music using these chords.
✏️ Extra Tips
Keep your right-hand fingering consistent. I suggest index, ring, middle for all D lookalikes and middle, ring, index for all Dm lookalikes.
For slides, keep pressing the strings down while moving quickly to another position. If it feels sticky, it’s too much pressure. If the sound gets cut off, it’s too little pressure.
For pull-offs, after playing the note before the pull-off, drag this finger and off the string. So, pull on the string a little and then let it roll off your fingertip.
🎯 Encouragement
These chords are extremely easy to play (because you can already play D & Dm). Yet, they’ll make you sound super skilled on the guitar (because they sound fantastic). It’ll also look like you’re very confident with the guitar (because you move up and down the entire fretboard). Have fun!
Talk soon,
Florian from Hi Guitar
