Chords in the Key of D: The 7 Chords, Progressions and Songs

The key of D is bright, ringing and full of open strings. The open D and A strings are the two most important notes in the key, so they ring along with your chords and give songs in D a big, resonant sound. That's why D is a favorite for acoustic strumming, folk and Celtic music, country, and plenty of rock.

Here are the seven chords in the key of D, how to play them (including easy versions of Bm and F#m), the progressions you'll use most and some variations that make D sound even better.

The 7 chords in the key of D

The D major scale is D E F# G A B C#. Its chords are:

Number	Chord	Type	Notes
I	D	Major	D F# A
ii	Em	Minor	E G B
iii	F#m	Minor	F# A C#
IV	G	Major	G B D
V	A	Major	A C# E
vi	Bm	Minor	B D F#
vii°	C#dim	Diminished	C# E G

It's the same major-minor pattern as every major key: I, IV and V are major; ii, iii and vi are minor; vii is diminished. If you know the key of G, you already know four of these chords (D, Em, G and Bm).

How to play the chords in D

D, Em, G and A are open chords. F#m and Bm are barre chords in full, so easy four-string versions are shown.

• D (I): strum the top four strings. See the D major chord page.
• Em (ii): often leads to A.
• F#m (iii): easy version shown. See our full guide to F#m.
• G (IV): strum all six strings.
• A (V): pulls strongly back to D. See the A major chord page.
• Bm (vi): the relative minor of D. Easy version shown; the full barre is on the B minor chord page.
• C#dim (vii°): an unstable passing chord. This easy shape uses two open strings.

What each chord does in D

• D (I): home. Bright and resolved.
• G (IV): a big, open step away. D to G is one of the most satisfying changes on guitar.
• A (V): tension that resolves back to D. A7 strengthens the pull.
• Bm (vi): the minor color of the key. D and Bm share two notes, D and F#.
• Em (ii): usually moves to A, setting up the return home.
• F#m (iii): a softer color that often leads to G or Bm.

The most common progressions in D

Progression	Numbers	Feel
D – G – A – D	I – IV – V – I	Folk, country, rock
D – A – Bm – G	I – V – vi – IV	Modern pop
D – Bm – G – A	I – vi – IV – V	1950s ballads
Bm – G – D – A	vi – IV – I – V	Emotional, anthemic
Em – A – D	ii – V – I	Song endings, jazzy pop
D – F#m – G – A	I – iii – IV – V	Bright, rising
D – C – G – D	I – ♭VII – IV – I	Classic rock

The last one borrows a C chord, which isn't in the key of D. That "flat seven" sound, a whole step below the home chord, is a staple of classic rock. Our guide to guitar chord progressions explains more patterns like this.

Variations that make D shine

D is the key of little embellishments. These are easy and sound fantastic:

• Dsus2 and Dsus4: lift your middle finger from D for Dsus2, or add your pinky to the 3rd fret of the high e for Dsus4. Moving D → Dsus4 → D → Dsus2 → D while strumming is a classic acoustic sound.
• A7: a two-finger V chord with a bluesy pull back to D.
• Bm7: an open, no-barre alternative to Bm. Works in many songs.
• Asus4 → A: add your pinky (or ring finger) to the 3rd fret of the B string, then release, for a decorated V chord.
• D/F#: D with F# in the bass, often used between G and Em. See slash chords.

Our guide to sus chords covers more of these decorations.

Songs in the key of D

D is a home key for folk, bluegrass and Celtic music, partly because fiddles and mandolins love it as much as guitars do, and the open D and A strings provide a natural drone. It's also common in pop and rock, and with a capo many songs in E or F are played using D shapes. If a song uses D, G, A and Bm, it's almost certainly in D.

D shapes with a capo

Capo fret	Sounds in	D – G – A becomes
1	E flat	Eb – Ab – Bb
2	E	E – A – B
3	F	F – Bb – C
4	F#	F# – B – C#
5	G	G – C – D

The capo-on-2 row is especially useful: songs in E with a tricky B chord become D, G and A. See how to use a capo for more.

The relative minor: B minor

D major's relative minor is B minor, which uses the same notes and chords but treats Bm as home. Songs in B minor often swap the F#m chord for F# or F#7, which pulls more strongly back to Bm. Our guide to the F# chord covers that move.

How to practice the key of D

1. Start with D, G and A. Practice D ↔ G and D ↔ A for a minute each, then the full I – IV – V.
2. Add Em: practice Em – A – D.
3. Add easy Bm: practice D – Bm and Bm – G, then D – A – Bm – G.
4. Add F#m: D – F#m – G – A.
5. Decorate: add the Dsus4 and Dsus2 movements to your D chords.

The trickiest change in D is usually into Bm. Our drills on how to change chords faster help, and so does using Bm7 while the full shape develops.

Related keys

D sits right between G and A. It shares four chords with G (D, G, Em, Bm) and four with A (D, A, Bm, F#m). Explore chords in the key of G and chords in the key of A next.

Soloing in the key of D

For melodies and solos over songs in D, use the D major pentatonic scale: D, E, F#, A and B. Those are the same notes as the B minor pentatonic scale, so the minor pentatonic box shape at the 7th fret (B minor) fits songs in D. Lower down, the open strings D, A, B and E all belong to the scale, which makes D a great key for simple melodies near the nut. Our guide to guitar scales for beginners explains the shapes.

Common mistakes in the key of D

• Strumming the low E and A strings on D: D starts on the 4th string. Hitting the low strings muddies the chord.
• A thin-sounding D: check that the high e string isn't muted by your ring finger.
• Struggling with Bm and stopping: use the easy four-string Bm or Bm7 and keep going.
• Losing time on the D to G change: lift your fingers early, on the last beat of the bar, so G lands on time.

Writing a simple song in D

Try this: a verse of D – A – Bm – G and a chorus of G – A – D – D. That's I – V – vi – IV for the verse and IV – V – I for the chorus, which lifts the energy. Strum each chord for one bar and hum a melody over it. Add Dsus4 and Dsus2 decorations on the D chords and you'll have something that sounds like a finished song. Our guide to guitar chord progressions has more ideas.

Fretwork's path teaches D, A and Em in its free first stages, with practice that turns each change into muscle memory. The first two stages are free, no card required.

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