Am to D chord change
Your index finger, middle finger and ring finger lift and move. Your strumming hand changes too: Am starts on the A string, D starts on the D string.
Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little finger. o means play the string open, ✕ means don’t play it.
Finger by finger
- Lifts and movesIndex finger (1) lifts and moves from the B string, 1st fret to the G string, 2nd fret.
- Lifts and movesMiddle finger (2) lifts and moves from the D string, 2nd fret to the high e string, 2nd fret.
- Lifts and movesRing finger (3) lifts and moves from the G string, 2nd fret to the B string, 3rd fret.
| Finger | On Am | On D | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Index finger (1) | B string, 1st fret | G string, 2nd fret | Lifts and moves |
| Middle finger (2) | D string, 2nd fret | high e string, 2nd fret | Lifts and moves |
| Ring finger (3) | G string, 2nd fret | B string, 3rd fret | Lifts and moves |
How to practise Am to D
- Play Am and pick each string on its own. Fix any string that buzzes before you start changing.
- Lead with the middle finger: it has the furthest to go (to the high e string, 2nd fret). Aim it first and let the other fingers follow.
- Do “ghost changes”: switch from Am to D and back 20 times without strumming. Lift your fingers only just off the strings, and land them all together.
- Now strum: four strums on Am, four on D. When that is clean, try two strums each, then one.
- Time yourself with the trainer below: one minute, counting every clean change. Do it once a day and watch the number climb.
One-minute Am to D trainer
Press Start, hold Am through the count-in, then change back and forth for one minute. Tap the big button (or press the space bar) every time you land a clean chord. Your best score is kept.
Want other chords? Open the full chord change trainer.
Songs that use Am to D
These songs in our free song library change between Am and D. Each one has a play-along that counts you in and lights up the chord to play.
- Danny Boy2 changes
- Molly Malone2 changes
- Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen2 changes
- The Water Is Wide2 changes
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas2 changes
- Were You There2 changes
- Deck the Halls1 change
- Go Tell It on the Mountain1 change
- Good King Wenceslas1 change
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing1 change
- O Little Town of Bethlehem1 change
- Shenandoah1 change
And 2 more in the song library.
Am to D: questions
Which finger stays down when you change from Am to D?
None stays in exactly the same place with the standard shapes. Your index finger, middle finger and ring finger lift and move.
How do I change from Am to D faster?
Practise the change on its own, not inside a song. Lift your fingers only just off the strings, land them all at once, and lead with the finger that has the longest trip. Then do one minute of changes a day with a timer and count them.
How many Am to D changes a minute is good?
Count every clean change: Am to D is one, and back again is two. Around 30 in a minute is a solid start and enough for slow songs. At 40 most songs at a relaxed tempo start to flow, and at about 60 (one change a second) the change is ready for almost anything.
What songs use Am and D?
In our free song library, Danny Boy, Molly Malone, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen and The Water Is Wide, and 10 more use it. Am to D is ii to V in the key of G, a move that pulls the ear back toward G.
Is D to Am the same as Am to D?
It uses the same moves in reverse. Practise both directions: the trainer counts each switch either way.
More chord changes
Learn the chords in the right order
Fretwork’s lessons teach one chord at a time, with a ring test and a one-minute change check before you move on. The first two stages are free.