Triads
D♯ major chord
Bright, stable and resolved — the foundation of most songs.
D♯ is the I chord in E♭ major, IV in B♭ major and V in A♭ major. In minor keys: III in C minor, V in G♯ minor, VI in G minor and VII in F minor.
- Notes
- D♯F𝄪A♯
- Formula
- 135
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th
How to play D♯
About the D♯ major chord
Playing it
There’s no open-string way to play D♯ on guitar with the root in the bass, so the standard shape is a barre across the 6th fret (x68886).
On piano, D♯ has two black keys (D♯ and A♯) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual D♯ shape is 0331, using three fingers.
Related chords
D♯ shares two of its three notes with B♯m (D♯ and F𝄪), its relative minor, and with F𝄪m (F𝄪 and A♯). That overlap is why these chords sound so natural next to each other — and why they can often stand in for one another.
Move a single note and D♯ becomes a different chord: lower F𝄪 to F♯ for D♯m, add C♯ for D♯7, add C𝄪 for D♯maj7 and raise F𝄪 to G♯ for D♯sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find D♯ in common progressions such as E♭–B♭–Cm–A♭ (the pop progression in E♭ major), E♭–A♭–B♭–A♭ (three-chord rock in E♭ major) and E♭–Cm–A♭–B♭ (the ’50s progression in E♭ major).
Notice the F𝄪 in D♯ (D♯ F𝄪 A♯): each note of the chord takes its own letter (D–F–A), so the major 3rd has to be written F𝄪 rather than G — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
