What is a D Major chord?

D major is an easy-to-play piano chord that’s made up of the notes D, F# and A. It can be written as either “D Major”, or simply abbreviated to just “D”.

The key signature of D Major consists of two black notes – F# and C# – and its relative minor is B minor.

Playing D Major with two hands

The diagram below shows the best way of playing a chord of D major with both the left and right hands. Use your left hand to play octave D notes with an A in the middle. Your right hand then plays a triad formed of F#, A, and D.

How to play a chord of D/F# on piano

A chord of D/F# requires an F# at the bottom of the chord stack. To form a chord of D/F# on piano, play a standard chord of D major in your right hand using the notes A, D, and F#. Then play a two F# notes with your left hand, one octave apart.

How to play a chord of D/A on piano

A chord of D/A requires an A at the bottom of the chord stack. To form a chord of D/A on piano, play a standard chord of D major in your right hand using the notes F#, A, and D. Then play a single note of A with your left hand.

Chords related to D Major

There are a number of other chords that share a similar harmonic family as the chord of D Major on piano, meaning all of these will always sounds good when played in the same chord sequence:

Chord name	Required notes
G Major	G B D
A Major	A C# E
B Minor	B D F#
D Minor	D F A
E Minor	E G B
Dmaj7	D F# A C#

List of all D chords on piano

D MinorDmaj7D7Dm7DmM7D6Dm6D5D9Dm9Dmaj9Dsus2Dsus4Ddim7Daug7

What are piano chords?

A piano chord is formed when two or more notes are played on a piano or keyboard at the same time. Click here to read our complete guide to learning how to play chords on piano now!