How can I get a fatter bass on the D chord?
I often notice when I'm playing finger-style, picking chords, that the bass of D and D minor feel underwhelming in comparison to surrounding chords (e.g. Am Dm Em). There's no deeper D on the fret board. Is there any other solution for changing that feel of the bassline getting "shallow" during D chords?
I realise drop-D tuning solves this problem, but I'd like to play in standard tuning since I'm pretty new to guitar (3 months).
(6)6 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
Play it barre, from the 5th string 5th fret, or 6th string 10th fret. You will have to learn barre chords sooner or later, and if you care that much about your sound, and don't want to drop tune, I'd suggest doing it sooner. Below are how the two most common are played. Also consider other voicings (shapes).
(5)--10
-7---10
-7---11
-7---12
-5---12
-----10
Edit: Whoops, didn't notice Basstickler's answer.
One option I haven't seen suggested here is to move the chord up the neck a bit instead of playing it with the open D. When playing any note, you are typically going to get a thicker sound if you play it on a thicker string. You can test this out by playing the open D string (just that note, for testing), then play the D on the 5th fret of the A string, then the 10th fret of the E string. You should notice that the tone gets thicker/warmer/more round. So if you were to play the D chord on the 5th fret, using the A barre chord shape, then you should find that your D sounds a bit fatter, potentially measuring up to the other lower root notes. The downside of this approach is that you will be changing up the voicing of the chord a little, where you will have a high A on top of the chord instead of the F# of the open voicing (or F if it's a minor chord). This would usually make the chord sound a little brighter, as the top note is a higher pitch, so it might not be appropriate for your sound. However, you could also just not play that high A and you would have the same notes as the open voicing.
Another option is to change up where you are plucking the string. When you pluck different parts of a string, you get a different tone. When you pluck near the bridge, you get a very thin sound, and when you pluck near or on top of the fretboard, you get a warmer/thicker sound. This is a little more difficult for beginners, since you have to pay more attention to your picking hand than you otherwise would, but it's good practice.
More generally speaking, it's good to consider the context. If you are going to be playing with a bass player, they will most likely be playing a nice fat root note under your chords, so the thickness of the root note on your instrument shouldn't matter too much when played in that context. It's also valuable to note that some frequencies carry better than others, so if you're playing this on an acoustic guitar, you're going to hear the frequencies a bit different than someone who is further away, so it could be good to set up a recording device across the room to hear it from the audience perspective and see if this is actually noticeable from there. You should also consider how important this really is. You may be paying a lot more attention to this tone issue than an actual listener would. So you might want to record yourself playing, then listen back and see if it really stands out while listening to the actual playing.
I like to use a drop D capo on the second fret or use a regular capo and put it on from the bottom and leave the 6 string open. But that will have you in the key of E playing D chord shapes. I also tune my guitar to D standard which will let you play in D with a capo on the second fret.
There are string sets with 4 rather than 3 metal-wound strings. It's obviously a tradeoff but might be worth checking out. Assuming nylon strings: you don't mention just what guitar we are talking about here.
It's always been a problem using open strings as the 'bass part'. E and A sound good, but D is quite high, so sounds weak. And it's made worse with only three other strings for the chord.
Two other options: play an open A string - not too bad, and better when the chords either side are not A, or finger an F# on the bottom string. Again, not perfect, as it makes a first inversion chord, which sometimes sound weak itself.
Another option, apart from the obvious downtune to D with the bottom string, which then means an E chord needs an E bass, by fretting on the second fret, is to use a slingshot which is a special machine head which, with a little flick, can be set up to drop the bottom string to that elusive D. Not a cheap option, though...
Todd's idea is good, and the two strings could be plucked simultaneously with thumb and index.
Play the open A string and the open D string. If they are in tune, they can create an auditory illusion of having the low D note below them in the ears of the listeners.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2025 All Rights reserved.