Rolling in the "D - Family Chords"

The basic chords that make up the D - family are D, Em, G, and A. The D family introduces two new chords: Em (pronounced as "E minor") and G. Just like the previous chords presented, Em and G are also called open chords and are easy to play. We already learned the two other chords, D and A, from my previous post about the A family.

A minor chord has a distinct sound from that of a major chord that can be characterized as soft and sad. Always remember that a chord that's named by a capital letter followed by a small "m" is a minor chord.

The following figures shows the fingering the chords in the D-family:

Em Chord diagram and left-hand fingering

  


G Chord diagram and left-hand fingering

 

or

Alternative Fingering for G Chord

For the chords D and A, please refer to my previous post.

As you may notice, none of the strings in the two chords above are marked with an X symbol which simply means that you can strike all the strings when you play the chords. Also, an alternative fingering for the G chord (2-3-4 instead of 1-2-3) can be used once your hands gains strength and more flexible. Using the 2-3-4 fingering allows you to switch to other chords fast and easily.

Now lets try playing these in a progression as shown in the image below:

The figure above shows that the second beat of each measure is divided into two strums - up and down. But this should only take one beat which means that you have to play 2 strums as quickly as you can in beat 2.

Two additional symbols are also presented:   and .  

The symbol means that you do a downward strumming and the symbol means an upward strum toward the ceiling. 

 If you are using your fingers to play, use the back of your fingernails to strum an upstroke whenever you see the symbol.

The term sim. instructs you to play in the same manner for the rest of the chords which is down, down-up, down, and down pattern.