As the tonic (I)D major
Home. The loop leaves D Major and keeps coming back to it.
D Major Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The D Major chord is built on the root note D. Its notes are D, F♯ and A.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Major chords feel bright, stable and resolved. A root, a major third and a perfect fifth give them a happy, confident sound. Most popular music is built on them.
- Notes
- D · F♯ · A
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7
- Note
- D
- Quality
- Major
- Symbol
- D
D Major on piano
3 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play D Major on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on D, middle finger on F♯ and little finger on A. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard F♯ is a black key and D and A are white. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- D1
- F♯3
- A5
D Major on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, D Major is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 2 and 3. String 4 rings open. Don't play strings 6 and 5.
D · F♯ · A
Play D Major on the online piano
Free, in your browser: play with the mouse, your computer keyboard or a USB MIDI keyboard. No sign-up.
D Major chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | F♯(F#) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | A |
How to use the D Major chord
The D Major chord is built from a root, a major third and a perfect fifth. Start at the root D and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: D, F♯ and A. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
You'll find major chords in almost every style of popular music: rock anthems, country ballads, pop hits and hymns. They commonly appear as the I, IV and V chords in a major key.
In major keys D is the V in G major, the I in D major and the IV in A major; in minor keys it's the VII in E minor, the V in G minor and the III in B minor. As the V of G minor it takes its third, F♯, from the harmonic minor scale: the key's seventh degree, raised a half step.
How D Major differs from similar chords
D and Dm share the root and the fifth, and the only difference is the third: a major third in D, a minor third in Dm. Add a major seventh and it becomes Dmaj7, add a minor seventh and it becomes D7. Of all the chords on this root, the plain major triad is the one that sounds finished.
Songs that use the D Major chord
These well-known tracks all play the D Major chord somewhere - they are not necessarily in that key.
- 1Sweet Child O MineGuns N Roses
- 2Here Comes the SunThe Beatles
- 3Livin on a PrayerBon Jovi
- 4Breakfast at TiffanysDeep Blue Something
- 5Brown Eyed GirlVan Morrison
Where D Major is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Scales that contain D
These scales include D as one of their diatonic chords. Use them to find melodies and improvisation ideas that fit perfectly.
C Lydian
C · D · E · F♯ · G · A · B
C Lydian Augmented
C · D · E · F♯ · G♯ · A · B
C Lydian Dominant
C · D · E · F♯ · G · A · B♭
C♯ Phrygian
C♯ · D · E · F♯ · G♯ · A · B
C♯ Locrian
C♯ · D · E · F♯ · G · A · B
C♯ Phrygian Dominant
C♯ · D · E♯ · F♯ · G♯ · A · B
C♯ Gypsy Major
C♯ · D · E♯ · F♯ · G♯ · A · B♯
C♯ Neapolitan Minor
C♯ · D · E · F♯ · G♯ · A · B♯
C♯ Persian
C♯ · D · E♯ · F♯ · G · A · B♯
D Major
D · E · F♯ · G · A · B · C♯
D Lydian
D · E · F♯ · G♯ · A · B · C♯
D Mixolydian
D · E · F♯ · G · A · B · C
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the D Major chord?
- The D Major chord contains D, F♯ and A (D, F# and A in plain text).
- Is the D Major chord major or minor?
- D Major is a major chord. Major chords feel bright, stable and resolved. A root, a major third and a perfect fifth give them a happy, confident sound. Most popular music is built on them.
- What key is the D Major chord in?
- In major keys D is the V in G major, the I in D major and the IV in A major; in minor keys it's the VII in E minor, the V in G minor and the III in B minor. As the V of G minor it takes its third, F♯, from the harmonic minor scale: the key's seventh degree, raised a half step.
- How do you play D Major on piano?
- Place your fingers on D, F♯ and A and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard F♯ is a black key and D and A are white.
- How do you play D Major on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 2 and 3. String 4 rings open. Don't play strings 6 and 5.
- What chords work well with D Major?
- D Major pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.