Chords in the Key of D Major

What are the chords in D major?

Take the D major scale — D E F# G A B C# — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• D — I, major, built on D
• Em — ii, minor, built on E
• F#m — iii, minor, built on F#
• G — IV, major, built on G
• A — V, major, built on A
• Bm — vi, minor, built on B
• C#dim — vii°, diminished, built on C#

The pattern of qualities is the same in every major key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

D, G and A — the I, IV and V — carry most songs in D major. Add Bm (the vi, the relative minor) and you have the four chords behind a large share of popular music.

• Pop Anthem — 1–5–6m–4 — D – A – Bm – G. Heard in Let It Be (verse), Don't Stop Believin'.
• Rock / Country / Blues Backbone — 1–4–5 — D – G – A. Heard in Wild Thing, Twist and Shout.
• 50s / Doo-Wop — 1–6m–4–5 — D – Bm – G – A. Heard in Stand By Me, Earth Angel.
• Rhythm Changes Turnaround — 1–6m–2m–5 — D – Bm – Em – A. Heard in I Got Rhythm, Heart and Soul (original).

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of D major: Dmaj7, Em7, F#m7, Gmaj7, A7, Bm7, C#m7♭5. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The V as a dominant seventh (A7) is the one that pulls hardest back to D.

D major and B minor share every chord

B minor uses the same seven notes as D major, so it has the same seven chords — the relative minor. What changes is which chord is home: D in D major, Bm in B minor. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of B minor, with their own numerals
• The D major scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of D major

1. Play D – G – A – D slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of D major fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.