Chords in the Key of D Major
Every diatonic triad and seventh chord in D major, with the progressions built from them. Free. No sign-up.
Key facts
Diatonic triads
Seventh chords
Stack one more scale tone on each triad and you get the seventh chords — same key, more color.
Common progressions in D major
I–V–vi–IV
D – A – Bm – G
The four-chord pop loop — a huge share of modern radio runs on it.
I–IV–V
D – G – A
The three-chord workhorse behind blues, folk, and early rock and roll.
ii–V–I
Em – A – D
The jazz cadence — the strongest pull back home in the key.
I–vi–IV–V
D – Bm – G – A
The '50s doo-wop turnaround, still everywhere in ballads.
How the key of D major works
D Major carries two sharps (F# and C#). The scale runs D–E–F#–G–A–B–C#, and stacking every other note of that scale builds the seven chords above — every chord tone comes from those same seven notes.
B Minor is the relative minor: identical key signature, identical seven chords. A song that treats Bm — the vi chord here — as home base is in B minor, even though its chord inventory matches this page exactly.
The parallel minor, D Minor, keeps the same root but flattens the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to one flat (Bb). Borrowing chords across that line is where a lot of songwriting color comes from.
Keep practicing
Knowing the chords in D major is the map; the coach watches you play them and tells you what to fix. Start coaching →