One of the first chords most new guitar players learn in the early days, is the "D" chord.
There are a lot of cool things you can do with a D chord, and we have discussed a few in previous articles.
Because of the fingering formation of a D chord, and the fact that the root note is an open string - there are a number of neat licks that can be played around the chord in various genres of music. Today we will look at adding a "swamp" feel, or country (southern) rock flavor to your D chord with a simple lick you can start playing today.
We will start by playing the notes of the lick, and then resolving on a D chord. Let's take a look:
E-------------------------------------------------2------------
B-------------------------------------------------3------------
G-------------------------------------------------2------------
D--------------------0----3p---0----------0------------------
A----------0-3h------------------3b------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------------------
1. Start this lick by playing the open 5th string (A).
2. Next, do a hammer-on to the note on the 3rd fret of the 5th string (C).
3. Then play the open 4th string (D).
4. Then play the note on the 3rd fret of the 4th string (F), and do a pull-off to the open 4th string.
5. Next, play the note on the 3rd fret of the 5th string (C), and do a slight bend (1/4), and let that lead into the note on the open 4th string (D).
6. Finally, resolve the lick by playing the D chord triad on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stirrings.
One important note: This lick can be played much more smoothly by keeping your fingers formed roughly in a "D" chord formation. The main thing you can do is anchor your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string (just like when forming a D chord) - and play the notes of the "lick" with only the 2nd finger.
This way your hand will always be in place to resolve back to the D chord. There is not just one "correct" way to play this lick. If you know the notes, you can't mess it up!
Experiment a little and find a number of approaches you could use with it. While playing around with it, you will probably hear snippets that sound familiar from popular songs we've all heard over the years.
Enjoy!
