D major chord on piano

The D chord (D major) is three notes: D, F♯ and A. Start on D, count four half steps up to F♯, then three more to A.

  • Droot, 1
  • F♯major 3rd, 3
  • Aperfect 5th, 5
D1A5F♯3

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

How to play D major on piano

  1. Find D, the white key between the two black keys of a group of two.
  2. Put your right thumb (finger 1) on D.
  3. Count four half steps up, black and white keys alike, to F♯. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count three more half steps to A for your little finger (5).
  5. Press all three keys together.
  6. For the left hand, play the same keys with fingers 5, 3 and 1, or play D an octave lower with your little finger.

Inversions

  1. D1A5F♯3

    Root position

    D, F♯, A

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  2. A2D5F♯1

    1st inversion

    F♯, A, D

    Right hand 1, 2, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  3. A1D3F♯5

    2nd inversion

    A, D, F♯

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 2, 1.

Practice D major

Hold each position of D major for four beats, then move to the next: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and round again. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every change lands on the beat.

DAF♯
  1. Root positionD–F♯–A
  2. 1st inversionF♯–A–D
  3. 2nd inversionA–D–F♯

The shape of D major

D major is white, black, white: F♯ is the only black key. E major and A major have the same pattern.

D major is built from the D major scale: take its 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, skipping every other note.

  1. D1
  2. E2
  3. F♯3
  4. G4
  5. A5
  6. B6
  7. C♯7

Smooth changes from D major

Jumping from one root position chord to the next moves the whole hand. The right inversion keeps shared notes still and moves the others the shortest way. Below are the chords built on the 4th and 5th notes of D major's own key: G and A.

  • DGB

    From D to G, play G in 2nd inversion (D–G–B): D stays, F♯ moves up a half step to G and A moves up two half steps to B.

  • EAC♯

    From D to A, play A in 1st inversion (C♯–E–A): D moves down a half step to C♯, F♯ moves down two half steps to E and A stays.

D major on the staff and on guitar

♯
On the treble staff, D sits in the space just below the staff, F♯ in the bottom space and A in the second space.
××132DADF♯
Open DFrets, low E to high E: x x 0 2 3 2
5fr×13331DADF♯A
A shape, 5th fretFrets, low E to high E: x 5 7 7 7 5

Keys with D major in them

  • D majorID, Em, F♯m, G, A, Bm, C♯dim
  • G majorVG, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F♯dim
  • A majorIVA, Bm, C♯m, D, E, F♯m, G♯dim
  • E minorVIIEm, F♯dim, G, Am, Bm, C, D
  • F♯ minorVIF♯m, G♯dim, A, Bm, C♯m, D, E
  • G minorVFrom G harmonic minor, which raises the scale's 7th note a half step so this chord leads back to G.
  • B minorIIIBm, C♯dim, D, Em, F♯m, G, A

Progressions that use it

  • I–IV–V, in D major

    1. ID
    2. IVG
    3. VA

  • I–V–vi–IV, in D major

    1. ID
    2. VA
    3. viBm
    4. IVG

  • vi–IV–I–V, in D major

    1. viBm
    2. IVG
    3. ID
    4. VA

  • I–vi–IV–V (the 50s progression), in D major

    1. ID
    2. viBm
    3. IVG
    4. VA

Related chords

Hearing a chord you can't name? Press its keys in the chord identifier.

Save or print the D major chord chart

D major chord on piano keyboard, notes D F♯ A
Download the D major chord chart (PNG). Free to print and share. For every chord on one page, see the piano chord chart.

Practice notes for D major

D major is the first chord most people learn with a black key in it. D and A are white; F♯ sits in the middle, the black key between F and G. The same white, black, white shape gives you E major and A major as well, so learn the feel of this one and two more come almost free.

Where it goes wrong. The middle finger lands on F instead of F♯. Look at the black key you need before you press, and let the middle finger reach slightly further into the keys than the thumb and little finger. If the hand stays flat at the front of the keys, the third finger has to stretch and the chord comes out uneven.

How to practice it. Play D, F♯ and A one at a time, then together, then release and find the shape again without looking. Then try the change to G in 2nd inversion (D–G–B): the thumb keeps D, and the middle and little fingers each move up a short step.

What to listen for. Swap F♯ for F and back again. D with F is D minor; D with F♯ is D major. If you can hear which is which with your eyes closed, the difference between major and minor has stuck.

What to learn next. G and A, the IV and V chords in D. With D they make the I–IV–V progression in D.

Questions

What notes are in a D major chord?

D, F♯ and A. D is the root, F♯ is a major 3rd above it and A is a perfect 5th above it.

How is D major different from D minor?

Only the middle note changes. D minor lowers F♯ a half step to F; the other two notes stay.

What does the chord symbol D mean?

A letter on its own means a major chord, so D means D major: D, F♯ and A. You may also see it written DM, Dmaj or DΔ.