D Chord Guitar Finger Position Diagram: How To Play D Guitar Chords

D Chord Guitar finger position charts, diagrams and photos. Guitar lesson showing you how to play a D major chord on your guitar.

D Chord Guitar Finger Position Diagrams

This page contains 3 ways of playing a D chord on guitar. The diagrams show the finger position you should use for each chord.

The first diagram shows an 'open position' D major chord. This should be the first D chord that you learn.

The next two chords are 'barre' chords, in which the index finger plays more than one note at a time. They're a little harder to play (at first). You can find out more about barre chords here: Barre Chords.

• You can download a printable guitar chords book here: Guitar Chords eBook

Open Position D Chord Shape

This is the most common way of playing a D guitar chord. Finger position numbers are shown. The photo below the diagram shows the chord being played.

Other Ways To Play a D Chord on Guitar: Barre Chords

You can also use barre chords (also called bar chords) to play a D major chord.

Barre chords can be moved up and down the guitar neck to play different chords.

Use the finger positions shown in the diagrams below – at the fretboard positions indicated – to play a D Chord.

D Chord Guitar Bar Shape 1

This is the barre chord equivalent of the standard 'A' guitar chord shape. It's basically the same as an A chord played at open position, but with a bar instead of the open strings.

The chord shape shown above can also be played by laying the 3rd finger (your 'ring' finger) over the 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings. It may seem tricky at first, but some guitarists find it's actually an easier and faster way of playing a D Chord!

D Chord Guitar Bar Shape 2

This is the bar chord equivalent of the basic, open position E guitar chord shape. Played at the 10th fret with a barre, it becomes a D major chord.

What is a D Chord? Is a D Chord the same as a D major chord?

In a word, yes. Nearly every time you see a D Chord diagram on sheet music, it will mean a D major chord. 'D' means play a D major chord.

You may see other chords that begin with 'D', but have other symbols after the letter. These aren't D major chords, and will require a different chord shape.

Refer to our main Guitar Chords Page to learn about other kinds of chords.

Notes In a D Major Chord

D major chords are made up of 3 notes: D, F# (F sharp), and A.

• These notes can be played in any order in the chord (although they are usually arranged within the chord with a C as the lowest note).
• The notes can be repeated in different octaves within the chord.

This is why there is always more than one way to play a chord on the guitar.

D Chord Guitar Finger Position Conclusion

We hope that you have found this lesson useful, and that you can now play a D major chord on your guitar!

• Learn more chords here: Guitar Chords Master Page.
• Download your copy of our Printable Guitar Chord eBook.
• The printed version of the book is available from Amazon. See it here: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.