D major the chords in the key
- Scale
- D E F# G A B C#
- Key signature
- two sharps: F# C#
- Relative minor
- B minor
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | D | D F# A | |
| ii | Em | E G B | |
| iii | F#m | F# A C# | |
| IV | G | G B D | |
| V | A | A C# E | |
| vi | Bm | B D F# | |
| vii° | C#dim | C# E G |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Dmaj7 | D F# A C# | |
| ii7 | Em7 | E G B D | |
| iii7 | F#m7 | F# A C# E | |
| IVmaj7 | Gmaj7 | G B D F# | |
| V7 | A7 | A C# E G | |
| vi7 | Bm7 | B D F# A | |
| viiø7 | C#m7b5 | C# E G B |
Common progressions in D major
- I–V–vi–IV the four-chord pop loop
- I–IV–V three-chord rock, folk and country
- ii–V–I the jazz cadence, in sevenths
- vi–IV–I–V the same four chords starting on the minor one
- 12-bar blues one chord per bar; every chord a dominant 7, which the major scale alone does not give
On guitar
Capo 7. With a capo on fret 7, play the open shapes G for D, C for G, D for A, Em for Bm: they sound as the I, IV, V and vi (D, G, A and Bm).
How the chords of D major work
D major uses the notes D E F# G A B C#, two sharps: F# C#. Stack every other note of that scale on each degree and you get the seven chords above: three major (D, G and A: I, IV and V), three minor (Em, F#m and Bm: ii, iii and vi) and one diminished (C#dim, vii°). Most songs in D lean on D, G and A, with Bm as the fourth chord.
The V7, A7 (A C# E G), is the chord that sounds like it wants to come home: its C# rises a semitone to D and its G falls a semitone to F#. A song that ends A7 to D is almost certainly in D major.
Bm is also the home chord of B minor, the relative minor: it uses exactly the same seven notes and the same seven chords. So a chord list from this page can be in either key; it is usually in the one whose home chord it starts or ends on.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative minor, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.