D Major guitar chord

The shape

Tap the diagram to hear D Major strummed. D Major is an open chord — it uses open strings near the nut, so it rings full and is friendly for beginners.

The notes in D Major

A major chord is spelled from its root up: D (R), F♯ (3), A (5). Those are the only notes in D Major — play them in any order, in any octave, and it's still D Major.

What a major chord is

In plain terms, a major chord is the bright, resolved sound of the root, its major third and its perfect fifth stacked together — the first chord most people ever hear.

How it's used: It's the home base (I) of any major key, and it also lives as the IV and V. When a song feels settled and happy, a major chord is usually why.

The sound: Open, stable, cheerful — the default 'happy' chord. Where you'll hear it: Everywhere: pop, folk, rock, classical — the backbone of Western music.

Hear D Major in a progression

As the I chord, it's home. Here it is in a I–IV–V–I — the most common move in music. Press play, and drag the Key control to move it anywhere.

Keys that use D Major

D Major appears naturally in these keys — click any to see all seven of its chords and how D Major fits in:

Other D chords

major chords on other roots

Chords and their spellings are shared facts of music theory. Every diagram and sound here is generated by ThunderFret's own engine — no tabs, lyrics or recordings are reproduced.