guitarchords

Scale degree map

Every chord in a key has a job: it feels like home, it moves away, or it builds tension that wants to resolve. Tap a chord to hear it and see where it wants to go.

  • HomeI iii viStable. Phrases end here.
  • Awayii IVMoves off home without urgency.
  • TensionV vii°Pulls hard back toward I.

The seven chords of D major

tap to hear
Dmajor
common
strongest
where I goes · thicker = stronger pullchords that lead into I

Home chord · Tonic

D major

Home — feels stable, resolved, home

All D voicings

The gravitational center. Everything resolves here.

Where it wants to go

Heard in

  • Arcade Fire — "Wake Up"
  • LCD Soundsystem — "All My Friends"

Play D major on guitar

Start with the plain chord, then colour it.
EADGBe13212345
  • DRoot
  • F♯3
  • A5

Colour it

dashed = needs a note from outside D major
Base
Colour
Richness
Suspension
DClean, simple, openIn D major

Go further in D major

How phrases end: the moves that create (or deny) resolution.

  • VAID
    Authentic (V→I)The strongest resolution. Tension → release. The sound of arriving home.
  • IVGID
    Plagal (IV→I)The "Amen" cadence. Gentler than V→I. Settling rather than snapping.
  • VAviBm
    Deceptive (V→vi)You expect home, you get the relative minor instead. The sound of a twist ending.
  • IDVA
    Half (→V)Ends ON the tension, not after it. The musical cliffhanger. Phrase feels unfinished.