Aug 21, 2021

Easy Guitar Chords For Beginners - D Major And G Major Chords

by Udeeksh Sood

D Major and G Major Chords are two of the most common chords. Learning how to play D Major and G Major on guitar will help you play hundreds of different songs.

How To Play D Major Chord On Guitar

D Major Chord is a 4 String Chord. To Play D Major Chord:

Place your First Finger on Second Fret, Third String.
Place your Second Finger on Second Fret, First String.
Place your Third Finger on Third Fret, Second String.
Fourth String is played open

Fifth and Sixth Strings are not played in D Major Chord

How do you practice the D chord?

To practice D Major Chord, Start at a slow tempo and play downstrokes on the first beat of every bar. Then add another downstroke at the third beat of every bar. Now you play a downstroke on the 1st and 3rd beat of every bar. After this play, a downstroke on all the four beats of a bar.

I suggest you watch the lesson video to get a better understanding of the D Major chord exercises.

D Major Chord Practice — Exercise 1

Hold the D Major chord and play downstrokes on the first beat of every bar.

D Major Chord Practice — Exercise 2

Hold the D Major and play downstrokes on the first beat and third beat of every bar.

D Major Chord Pracitce Exercise 2 Page 1

D Major Chord Practice Exercise 2 page 2

D Major Chord Practice — Exercise 3

Hold the D Major chord and play downstrokes on every beat of every bar.

How To Play An Easy G Major Chord On Guitar

There are two different versions of the G Major chord. Let us first learn the easy G Major version that uses 3 fingers.

G Major Easy Chord is a 6 String Chord. To Play G Major Chord:

Place your First Finger on Second Fret, Fifth String.
Place your Second Finger on Third Fret, Sixth String.
Place your Third Finger on Third Fret, First String.
Second, Third, and Fourth Strings are played open.

How To Play G Major Chord

G Major Chord is a 6 String Chord. To Play G Major Chord:

Place your First Finger on Second Fret, Fifth String.
Place your Second Finger on Third Fret, Sixth String.
Place your Third Finger on Third Fret, Second String.
Place your Fourth Finger on Third Fret, First String.
Second, Third, and Fourth Strings are played open.

How do you practice the G chord?

To practice G Major Chord, Start at a slow tempo and play downstrokes on the first beat of every bar. Then add another downstroke at the third beat of every bar. Now you play a downstroke on the 1st and 3rd beat of every bar. After this play, a downstroke on all the four beats of a bar.

I suggest you watch the lesson video to get a better understanding of the G Major chord exercises.

G Major Chord Practice — Exercise 4

Hold the G Major chord and play downstrokes on the first beat of every bar.

G Major Chord Practice — Exercise 5

Hold the G Major and play downstrokes on the first beat and third beat of every bar.

G Major Chord Practice — Exercise 6

Hold the G Major chord and play downstrokes on every beat of every bar.

Switching Between D Major and G Major Chords

Now you know how to play D major and G Major chords in the open position. Now, let's practice switching between D Major and G Major chords.

Chord Switching — Exercise 7

Start with D Major Chord. Play downstroke on the first beat of a bar and switch to G Major Chord after 4 bars. Watch the video to get an even better understanding and play-along.

Practice D Major G Major Exercise 1 page 1

Practice D Major G Major Exercise 1 page 2

Practice D Major G Major Exercise 1 page 3

Chord Switching Exercise 8

Practice D Major G Major Exercise 2 page 1

Practice D Major G Major Exercise 2 page 2

Songs Using D Major and G Major Chords

Now learn to play songs on guitar that use D Major and G Major chords. The songs are Happy Birthday and knocking On Heaven Door.

Knocking on heavens' door also uses chords A Minor and C Major. If you wish to learn how to play A Minor and C Major Chords, go through this lesson.

How To Play Happy Birthday On Guitar

Happy Birthday, the song can easily be played on guitar using just D Major and G Major Chords. Watch the video to better understand how the chords are arranged.

How To Play Knocking On Heaven's Door Easy Beginner Version

Knocking on Heaven's Door is an easy beginner guitar song. It is originally composed by Bob Dylan and later covered by many artists like Guns N' Roses, Pete Carr, Eric Clapton, Roger Walters and a lot more.

I have simplified the song and made it easy to play on a guitar for beginners. Knocking on heavens' door uses chords G Major, D Major, A Minor and C Major. If you wish to learn how to play A Minor and C Major Chords, go through this lesson.

Knocking On heavens Door Easy Beginner Guitar Chord

The above chord pattern repeats throughout the song.

To Download Sheets For Exercises, Click Here

Now you know how to play D Major and G Major, practice them and have fun. Post your comments or queries in the comments below. In Lesson 7 you will learn How To E Major, A Major and B Major Chords on Guitar.

FAQ

Is D major hard to play on guitar?

D major is a relatively difficult chord to play for beginners. You will need to use three fingers and align the three fingers in close frets. To properly play D Major chord, practice enough and make sure to use the right fingering.

What are the different ways to play a G chord on a guitar in an open position?

There are two different ways to play the G Major Chord on a guitar in an open position. You can use three fingers and play the easy version of G Major Chord. You can use Four Fingers and play the G Major as well. A G chord is a major triad, made up of three notes: G (root), B (third), and D (fifth). When you play the four-finger variation of the G major, you are playing all the G triad notes and also a G octave.

Diffrent Ways To Play G Major In Open Position On Guitar

What is the correct G chord?

The Four Finger variation of G Major chord is the desired way to play G Major chord in open shape. This shape plays the G Major Triad, i.e., you play the notes G, B and D.