Over 1800 pages of
ukulele, guitar and music content. And 146 lessons for FREE or any donations.
Website brought to you by
Curt Sheller
Curt Sheller Publications
www.CurtSheller.com
and hosted by:
[ v3.0|2.56|2.0.3 ]
“Folks, if you haven't stopped by Curt's site, do so right now! ..And get his books, they are fantastic. This guy knows his stuff and is able to pass it along too.” - - Alan Johnson Proprietor, The 4th Peg
“I can highly recommend Curt's Uke books -- I have four of them and they are excelent.” - fatveg - Portland
Banners Ads
- 125x125 Badge (Sidebar-every page) : $20/month (discount rate, $200 for 1 Year)
- Banner ad on a particular page - contact me for more information and rates.
For More Information
For more information contact curt@curtsheller.com. For available pages visit the ad rates page.
I choose just a few companies whose products I believe in, use and recommend. Nobody else gets to advertise here.
Curt Sheller • All Things `Ukulele and Jazz Guitar
The Basics and Beyond!!! Take your playing to the next level.
The Internet's largest collection of information for ukulele and jazz guitar.
YOU ARE HERE • HOME > LESSONS > LESSON PAGES > OPEN POSITION D UKULELE CHORD
RELATED PAGES: • Lessons Home Page •ALL Lessons (summaries on one page) •
for UKULELE •
for GUITAR •
bass guitar •
general music •
quickstart fingering series •
articles •
clinics & workshops •
faq •
play-along tracks •
repertoire •
TABs & solo arrangements •
the study of music •
UPDATED & NEW Lessons •
FREE BOOKS •
Search Lessons 
Open Position D Major Chord Ukulele Chord
Chord Fingering
- 2 3 4
Smaller set of fingers than 1 2 and 3 together
- 2 3 3 -
if you can raise the third finger barre off string one so it sounds open this fingering is possible. It all depends on the flexibility of ones finger joints.
- Other fingerings are explored in the text to the right.
D Major, Open Position
"C" Tuning (gCEA or GCEA)
Numeric scale degree formula based on a major scale: 1 3 5
D Major Scale
D E F♯ G A B C♯ E G B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 11 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The notes of D are : D F# A.
Chord Fingering
Fingerings are recommended but not mandatory!
There are usually several alternate ways to finger any particular chord. Depending on the context of how a chord is being used, one fingering might be more efficient than another fingering.
Chord Fingering
- 1 2 3
Not easy for larger hands and requires you to turn you hand slightly.
- 2 3 4
Smaller set of fingers than 1 2 and 3 together
- 2 3 3 - if you can raise the third finger barre off string one so it sounds open this fingering is possible. It all depends on the flexibility of ones finger joints.
- 2 2 3 or 1 1 2 -
If you can raise the barre off string one so it sounds open this fingering is possible. It all depends on the flexibility of ones finger joints.
I use this 3 2 2 fingering a lot.
- 3 2 4
- 2 1 3
This gets a little tight on smaller ukes and larger hands
- 1 1 1 -
if you can raise the barre off string one so it sounds open this fingering is possible. Again this fingering depends on the flexibility of ones finger joints.
- Thumb -
although this is possible, especially on the smaller soprano and concert ukes it is not recommended.
I recommended that you explore and develop alternate fingerings for your chords. Alternate fingerings free up other fingers for adding notes to chords or to grab melodies.
What finger is what?
Here are the common fingering notations I've encounter over the course of my studying ukulele and guitar.
Fingering for chords is typically expressed using arbic numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and T for Thumb.
For the plucking hand, in fingerstyle, the Spanish classical names and what are commonly used in English are shown.
- Thumb (t), not really a finger but a digit. In classical guitar notation this is Pulgar (p)
- Index (i) finger. In classical guitar notation Indice (i)
- Middle (m) finger. In classical guitar notation Medio (m)
- Ring (r) finger. In classical guitar notation Anular (a)
- Pinky (p) finger. In classical guitar notation Mignolo (c, x or e)
Spanish: p i m a, English: t i m r
If you're studying legit classical guitar technique the classical terms are what you will encounter. For all else I recommend simply using the english terms.
When playing all four strings, each finger can handle their own string. On ukulele it's a simple finger to string assignment, your thumb handles string ④, your index finger handles string ③, your middle finger handles string ② and your ring finger handles string ①. A simple one finger to one string assignment.
When playing any of the three, possible three string sets. You can use the thumb, index and middle fingers.
For the two string pairs any combination of t i mr is possible depending on the musical context
The final decision as to what fingering combination to use wil be a musical one. But it is definitely worth exploring all possible combinations.
D Major, Movable Barre Form
"C" Tuning (gCEA or GCEA)
If the above voicings of the D chord give you trouble this alternate voicing and fingering might be better.
Chord Fingering
- 1 1 1 4
This is pretty much the only usable fingering.
The open position D chord and its movable form as well as most common open position chords are covered in my book: Ukulele Chords
HARD COPY
BC1UKE
Hard Copy Book Not Available
A Guide to Ukulele Chords
A Guide to Ukulele Chords is designed as a guide to ukulele chords. Covering the basic ukulele chords that ALL ukulele players SHOULD know. A Guide to Ukulele Chords covers movable chord forms, rock chords, how to transpose chords, learning the ukulele fingerboard and includes an introduction to 4-part, a.k.a jazz chords and more...
From a few core, basic chord shapes and a understanding of how chords are constructed. Your chord vocabulary can be dramatically increased without memorizing countless chord shapes. There are too many chord shapes to memorize.
This book will take the mystery out playing and understanding chords on the ukulele, whether it is a standard, concert, tenor or baritone ukulele in C, D or G tuning, low or high string four.
Tunings: C, G, or D Tunings. Low or high string four variations.
Lefties of the world! Don't feel left out. There is a version for you: A Guide to Ukulele Chords for Lefties
More info, samples, table of contents, audio, video and more...
ISBN-13: 978-0-9714044-7-2 Published: January 2009 Pages 54
top
eBook
BC1UKE
PDF/eBook Not Available
HARD COPY
BC1UKE-C
Hard Copy Book: $9.95
Ukulele Chords
This mini (1/2 size) chord books are the perfect size for every ukulele gig bag or case and a great addition to you music book library.
SPECIAL: $4.97 for Hard Copy This is the same price as the PDF download.
Ukulele Chords covers basic open position and basic movable form chords. From these two chord categories a variety of songs and styles can be played.
Seventh chords, Major Sevenths, Minor Sevenths, Diminished, Augmented chords sus and add chords.
Tunings: C with low or high G - (GCEA or gCEA).
More info, samples, table of contents, audio, video and more...
ISBN-13: 978-1-60321-000-3 Published: March 2007 Pages 44
top
eBook
BC1UKE-C
Printable eBook/PDF: $4.95
NOW - With quick download after payment.
HARD COPY
AGCPB1UKE
Hard Copy Book: $12.95
A Guide to Blues Chord Progressions for Ukulele A to Z
The Blues are at the heart of all American music. It has influenced Country, Rock, Folk, Jazz, Bluegrass and just about every form of American music we listen to today.
Studying the blues chord progressions presented in this book will open a wealth of creative possibilities for exploring chord progressions in all styles of music, not just blues.
This volume covers the key of C major and C minor. Each example includes detailed accompanying text explaining the principles behind each progression and its chord substitutions.
A Guide to Blues Chord Progressions for Ukulele A to Z starts with a basic three chord, 12 bar blues and progresses up to a sophisticated jazz blues with multiple chord substitutions.
All examples are shown in C and G tuning. Suitable for Soprano, concert, tenor and baritone ukuleles. Get through this book and you'll have a solid jazz chord foundation to build on.
Tunings: C and G. Low or high string four variations.
More info, samples, table of contents, audio, video and more...
ISBN-13: 978-0-9714044-4-1 Published: March 2005 Pages 80
top
eBook
AGCPB1UKE
Printable eBook/PDF: $4.95
NOW - With quick download after payment.
HARD COPY
AGCUKE1
Hard Copy Book: $14.95
A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords - Volume I
Beyond learning basic Ukulele chords most players struggle with advanced chords. Commonly called “jazz” chords, these more sophisticated voicings find a wide use in all forms of music.
A Guide to Advanced Chords for Ukulele presents a highly organized and efficient approach to the mysterious subject of advanced chords. Chord dictionaries are not the answer. Even chord theory does not offer any insight into unraveling the complexity of Ukulele chord voicings.
If your goal is to expand your chord vocabulary, A Guide to Advanced Chords for Ukulele is your answer.
More info, samples, table of contents, audio, video and more...
ISBN-13: 978-0-9714044-8-9 Published: March 2003 Pages 70
top
eBook
AGCUKE1
Printable eBook/PDF: $4.95
NOW - With quick download after payment.
HARD COPY
AGCUKE1STD
Hard Copy Book: $12.95
Exploring Jazz Chords on Ukulele
Exploring Jazz Chords takes the core chords from A Guide to Advanced Chords for Ukulele and shows their use over a variety of common chord progressions based on songs from the standard jazz repertoire.
Building a Solid Jazz Chord Foundation using Seventh, Major Seventh, Major 6, Minor Seventh, Minor Sixth, Diminished Seventh, Minor Seventh Flat Five and Augmented Seventh chords.
Tunings: C and G. Low or high string four variations.
More info, samples, table of contents, audio, video and more...
ISBN-13: 978-1-60321-007-2 Published: January 2007 Pages 52
top
eBook
AGCUKE1STD
Printable eBook/PDF: $4.95
NOW - With quick download after payment.
HARD COPY
AGCPUKE1
Hard Copy Book Not Available
The Advanced Guide to Chord Progressions for Ukulele - Volume I
Volume I features the principles of voice leading applied to chord progressions. These principles are explained using chords from volume I of The Advanced Guide to Ukulele Chords. Chapters with common major and minor full diatonic, partial diatonic and chromatic chord progressions are also included to further explore voice leading principles presented in the book.
Tunings: C Tuning with a low or high G - (GCEA or gCEA).
More info, samples, table of contents, audio, video and more...
ISBN-13: 978-0-9714044-9-6 Published: January 2004 Pages 80
top
eBook
AGCPUKE1
Printable eBook/PDF: $4.95
NOW - With quick download after payment.
You'll need a copy of Adobe®: Acrobat® reader (version 3.0 or higher) to view or print the PDF file. If you don't already have a copy, or if you have an older version, you can get the latest reader for free from Adobe.
Lessons, TABS and Songs are intended FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
Portions of copy regarding particular songs is from WidipediA, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
Thanks for visiting and checking out the site!
Content is always being added and updated. So check-in often. Thanks, Curt
AGCPUKE1 - OPEN_POSITION_D_UKULELE_CHORD.PHP | Updated: Friday, 30th March, 2012 @ 04:35pm