Clem Buckley
- Oct 12, 2022
- 1 min read

D major and D minor chords - 2 Minute Lesson.

Updated: Oct 13, 2022

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Full lesson in book and online course

Looking at the D major chord 'D' and the D minor chord 'Dm'

Again the difference between a Major and Minor chord is the middle note the 3rd. In a major chord the 3rd is know as a Major 3rd and in a minor chord the 3rd is a semitone lower and is know as a minor 3rd or b3 (flat three). See Major vs Minor Chords video for more information

You'll see that the two shapes are the same except for the note on the 1st string. In the D major chord you hold down the 2nd fret (F#) and in D minor that gets lowered a semitone to the 1st fret (F). This is often missed by students as every finger is in a different place between the two shapes.

The notes of D major are:

1 = D

3 = F#

5 = A