Chord progressions in D major

Which chords belong together in D major, and what is built from them: the seven diatonic chords and 13 common progressions, each written out.

The chords of D major

Almost every song in this key is built from these seven. The roman numeral says which degree of the scale the chord stands on — upper case for major, lower case for minor.

Degree	Chord	Type
I	D	major
ii	Em	minor
iii	F#m	minor
IV	G	major
V	A	major
vi	Bm	minor
vii°	C#dim	diminished

13 progressions in D major

I–V–vi–IVD – A – Bm – GThe four chords vi–IV–I–VBm – G – D – AThe same four, starting minor I–vi–IV–VD – Bm – G – AThe fifties progression ii–V–IEm7 – A7 – Dmaj7The jazz cadence I–IV–VD – G – AThe three primary chords I–I–I–I–IV–IV–I–I–V–IV–I–VD7 – G7 – D7 – A7 – G7 – D7 – A7The twelve-bar blues I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–VD – A – Bm – F#m – G – D – G – AThe Pachelbel canon I–vi–ii–VDmaj7 – Bm7 – Em7 – A7The turnaround I–♭VII–IVD – C – GThe Mixolydian turn I–iii–IV–VD – F#m – G – AThe rising progression I–IV–I–VD – G – D – AThe alternating progression vi–V–IV–VBm – A – G – AThe lamenting progression I–V–IV–VD – A – G – AThe rock loop

Neighbouring keys

A majorG majorB minor

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Every note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.