D Major Chord on Piano (D Chord)


The D major chord is one of the first chords with sharps everyone learns on piano. It's really common to see and a great one to learn. This is also called a D chord. 

Here you'll find a D chord diagram, learn the fingering, notes, inversions and some basic theory for the D major chord. You can also find out what D/F# and D/A means. 

The D Major Chord

If you see a D chord, it means to play the notes D, F# and A. 

You can play the D, F# and A in any order, in any hand. Generally, D needs to be the lowest note you play - like in your left hand. 

D/F#

If you see D/F#, the F# is referring to the bass note.

On the piano, this would usually mean to play F# in the left hand as the lowest note. D and A would come above. 

D/A

f you see D/A, the D is referring to the bass note.

On the piano, this would usually mean to play A in the left hand as the lowest note. D and F# would come above. 

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Where The D Chord Comes From (Theory)

The D chord or D major chord comes from the D major scale.

The D major scale and the key of D has 2 sharps: F# and C#.

The notes of the scale are D E F# G A B C# D.

A major chord is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale which is why this chord has the notes D, F# and A. 

Which Fingers Do You Use?

For any major chord in the root position (with D at the bottom in this case), you can use your thumb, middle finger and pinkie. In piano, these are finger numbers 1, 3 and 5

D Chord Inversions

You can play the D chord on the piano in different positions. There are 2 other standard positions and we call these inversions. 

Basically, it means taking a note from the bottom of the chord and playing it on the top. 

Root position: D F# A

First inversion: F# A D (Fingers 1 2 5)

Second inversion: A D F#

Ready to learn more about piano chords? Start by getting the free chord chart below. 

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    For more on specific chords, you can visit the Piano Chord Charts here. 

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    Ultimate Chord Cheat Sheet

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