How to Play D on Piano

The D Major chord sounds bright and resolved. It stacks 3 notes: D – F# – A.

A root, a major third and a perfect fifth — the chord every other chord is measured against.

Notes in D

NoteIntervalFinger
DD4Root1
F#F#4Major 3rd3
AA4Perfect 5th5

How to Play

Right Hand

Place your thumb (finger 1) on D. Use finger 3 on F# and finger 5 on A.

Where it sits

One note of this chord (F#) is on black keys, so play it a little further back on the keys than an all-white shape.

Press all 3 keys at the same time. Keep your wrist relaxed and your fingers curved. The blue dots on the piano below show exactly which keys to press — they turn green when you play the right note.

Other Major Chords

C
C – E – G
Db
Db – F – Ab
Eb
Eb – G – Bb
E
E – G# – B
F
F – A – C
F#
F# – A# – C#
G
G – B – D
Ab
Ab – C – Eb
A
A – C# – E
Bb
Bb – D – F
B
B – D# – F#

Other D Chords

D6
D – F# – A – B
D7
D – F# – A – C
D9
D – F# – A – C – E
Dm
D – F – A
Dmaj7
D – F# – A – C#
Dm7
D – F – A – C
Ddim
D – F – Ab
Daug
D – F# – A#
Dsus2
D – E – A
Dsus4
D – G – A
Ddim7
D – F – Ab – Cb
Dm6
D – F – A – B
Dadd9
D – F# – A – E