D chord

The D chord (major): notes D F# A, degrees 1 – 3 – 5. Guitar shapes: x54232, xx0232, x57775, 10-9-7-7-7-10.

• Notes: D F# A
• Degrees: 1 – 3 – 5
• Shapes: x54232, xx0232, x57775, 10-9-7-7-7-10

A chord is the root plus degrees above it, most often stacked in thirds. Major and minor differ only in the lower third: a major third (M3) sounds bright, a minor third (m3) sounds sad. Pick a chord and a root to see its degrees and intervals, and its shapes.

m — minor, M — major, P — perfect, A — augmented interval; the number is the degree count. m3 is 3 semitones, M3 is 4, P5 is 7

C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B

D Dm D5 D7 Dm7 Dmaj7 Dsus2 Dsus4 Dadd9 D6 Dm6 D9 Ddim Ddim7 Dm7♭5 Daug