A quick guide to chords in the key of D major.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major | Minor | Minor | Major | Major | Minor | Dim |
| I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | viiº |
| D | Em | F#m | G | A | Bm | C#º |
The notes of a D major scale are:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
| D | E | F# | G | A | B | C# |
Major Scale Formula
The scale notes above follow the 'major' scale formula of 'steps':
WHOLE – WHOLE – HALF – WHOLE – WHOLE – WHOLE – HALF
Or 'tones':
TONE – TONE – SEMITONE – TONE – TONE – TONE – SEMITONE
Or even frets:
Two Frets – Two Frets – One Fret – Two Frets – Two Frets – Two Frets – One Fret
Which gives us the following interval relationships from the tonic (1st note):
- Unison
- Major 2nd
- Major 3rd
- Perfect 4th
- Perfect 5th
- Major 6th
- Major 7th
- Octave
The notes of each chord in D major
All the chords in the key of D major are made up of notes from the D major scale.
| D major | D | F# | A |
| E minor | E | G | B |
| F# minor | F# | A | C# |
| G major | G | B | D |
| A major | A | C# | E |
| B minor | B | D | F# |
| C# diminished | C# | E | G |
The relative minor scale of D major is B minor, which comes from the 6th note of the Bb major scale.
