D Chord

Discover everything you need to know about the C chord on guitar, including how to play it, the different positions you can use, and a lot more.

How to Play D Chord on Guitar

The D chord is another essential shape every guitarist should know. It comes from the D major scale, which includes the notes D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#. To build a D major chord, you use the 1st (D), 3rd (F#), and 5th (A) notes from the scale. For a D minor chord, the 3rd is flattened.

The most familiar version of the D major chord is played in the open position using the top four strings. Your fingers form a triangle shape on the 2nd and 3rd frets of the G, B, and high E strings. This shape is used in many acoustic and pop songs and has a bright, ringing sound due to the open D string.

To play a D minor chord in open position, you shift your fingers slightly, placing one on the 1st fret of the high E string instead of the 2nd. This small change gives the chord a very different emotional tone while keeping the shape easy to play.

You can also find D chords in movable barre shapes. A common D major barre chord is on 5th fret using the A-shape. For D minor, a popular barre version starts on the 5th fret of the A string with the E minor shape.