How to play D Chord or D Major Chord on Guitar

What is D major on guitar?

The D Major chord is also commonly referred to as D Chord. This chord is another beginner-level open guitar chord and is taught with the initial set of easy chords.

The D major consists of 3 notes. D, F# and B.

How to play D Major chord on guitar in 3 simple steps

Take a look at the pictures to get an idea of the shape of the D major chord we are going to play now.

Step 1: Put your index finger or 1st finger in the 2nd fret of the 3rd string (G String)

Step 2: Put your middle finger or 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 1st string (E String)

Step 3: Put your ring finger or 3rd finger in the 2nd fret of the 2nd string (B String)

Now strum the bottom 4 strings and that is the D Major chord. If you see the chord diagram, note that the 4th string is marked as ‘O’ which mean open note to be played. The note there is D, which is one of the notes of D chord.

Also note that the 5th and 6th string are marked X. This means those chords are not be played while strumming.

How to practise D Major Chord

Here is a simple 2 step method to practise the D Chord:

1. Finger Placement – Make sure the fingers are place in the exact position as shown in the chord diagram. Take care not to touch the other strings. Initially it will be little difficult, but don’t worry eventually you will be able to play with little bit of focus and practise.
2. Strumming – Strum the bottom 4 strings. There is a high probability initially it may not sound great, but make sure you are able to hold the chord and when you strum you are able to hear all the 4 notes clearly.

Tips to play the perfect D Major Chord

You will have to stretch your third finger a little bit, with a little bit of practice this will be easy.

You will also have to arch or bend your fingers so that you don’t touch the other things. In case you touch the other fingers, then you will mute those strings and the notes from the muted strings will not clear it will be a ‘buzzy’ sound.

The D chord is one of the most widely used guitar chords in many songs across all languages.

Check the following links to learn the beginner chords.

1. C Major Chord
2. D Major Chord
3. E Major Chord
4. G Major Chord
5. A Major Chord
6. E Minor Chord
7. A Minor Chord
8. D Minor Chord
9. F Major Chord
10. B Minor Chord