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How to Play The D Chord on Bass
The most common way to play the D Chord on bass is at the 5th position of the fretboard, on the E, A, and D strings. Play it with your ring, pinky, and middle fingers. Here’s how to place your fingers:
- Ring finger (3) on fret 5 of the E string
- Pinky finger (4) on fret 5 of the A string
- Middle finger (2) on fret 4 of the D string
The root note, D, is on the 5th fret of the A string, which you can see in the chord diagram below.
You can also play D major as a dyad, which means playing it with only the 2 primary intervals: the root and the 3rd.
You can use this D major arpeggio bass diagram to visualize and construct the D major chord in any position on your fretboard.
Other names for D Major
The D major chord can be written in several ways, including:
- D Major
- Dmaj
- D
These notations all represent the same chord, built from the notes D, F#, and A.
Practicing the D chord on bass
The D chord is the root chord in the D major scale, so use it in a 1-4-5 progression in the key of D major. This gives you the chords D – G – A.
D major also sounds great as the V chord in the G major scale. Use it in a G major chord progression such as D – C – G.