D guitar chord

D major · Dmaj · DM

The D guitar chord is played xx0232 in open position. Its notes are D, F# and A.

D open chord (xx0232)

Fingering: xx0232
Fingers: – – – 1 3 2
Difficulty: Easy
Position: open position

D barre chord, 2nd fret (254232)

Fingering: 254232
Fingers: 1 4 3 1 2 1
Difficulty: Hard
Position: barre chord, 2nd fret

D barre chord, 5th fret (557775)

Fingering: 557775
Fingers: 1 1 2 3 4 1
Difficulty: Hard
Position: barre chord, 5th fret

D barre chord, 10th fret (10-12-12-11-10-10)

Fingering: 10-12-12-11-10-10
Fingers: 1 3 4 2 1 1
Difficulty: Hard
Position: barre chord, 10th fret

PNG PDF

Notes in the D major chord

The D chord is made of D · F♯ · A. Its formula is 1–3–5.

Note	Degree	Interval from D
D	1	root
F♯	3	major third
A	5	perfect fifth

How to play the D guitar chord

First finger on the 2nd fret of the G string, third finger on the 3rd fret of the B string, second finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string. The D string rings open as the root.

The three fingers make a small triangle. Strum the top four strings.

Why your D chord buzzes or sounds muted

The third finger often touches the high E string and mutes the F♯ on top, which is the brightest note in the chord. Come down on the fingertip.

Strumming through the low E string muddies the chord. The open A string is in the chord and does no harm.

D barre chord

D has 3 barre shapes here: 254232 (barre at the 2nd fret), 557775 (barre at the 5th fret) and 10-12-12-11-10-10 (barre at the 10th fret).

A barre shape has no open strings, so it moves. Slide any of them up one fret and you are playing D# (Eb).

D open chord

The open D chord is xx0232. It uses the open D string, which is why it rings longer than the shapes higher up the neck.

Songs that use D

Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan): G D Am C
Stand by Me (Ben E. King): A F#m D E
Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd): D C G
Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison): G C D Em
Hotel California (Eagles): Bm F# A E G D Em
House of the Rising Sun (The Animals): Am C D F E
Zombie (The Cranberries): Em C G D
Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival): D A G
Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver): G C D
Three Little Birds (Bob Marley): A D E
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd): Em7 G A7sus4 C D Am
Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show): G D Em C
Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix): C G D A E
Heart of Gold (Neil Young): Em C D G
Nothing Else Matters (Metallica): Em D C G B7 Am
Blowin' in the Wind (Bob Dylan): G C D
Fast Car (Tracy Chapman): Cmaj7 G Em D
Get Lucky (Daft Punk): Bm D F#m E
Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton): G D C Em
Hey There Delilah (Plain White T's): D F#m Bm G A
Redemption Song (Bob Marley): G Em C Am D
Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash): G C D
Wild Thing (The Troggs): A D E
With or Without You (U2): D A Bm G
Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver): A F#m E D

Chord names only, as the songs are usually charted for guitar. Recordings may use a capo or another key.

Keys with the D chord

D is the I chord in D major, V chord in G major and IV chord in A major. In minor keys it is the III chord in B minor, VII chord in E minor and VI chord in F# minor.

All major guitar chords

Every D chord on guitar

D guitar chord questions

How do you play a D chord on guitar?

Play xx0232, reading from the low E string to the high E string. An x means the string is not played and a 0 means it rings open. The fingers used are - - - 1 3 2.

What notes are in the D chord?

The D major chord has 3 notes: D, F# and A. Its formula is 1–3–5, counted from the D major scale.

What keys is the D chord in?