How to Play the Open Position D Chord and CAGED D Shape
The D chord might feel like the final video in the series, as we’re spelling out CAGED and have already covered C, A, G, and E — but we’re not done yet.
We’ll also explore the F and B chords, and after that, we still have all the minor CAGED chords to go through as well.
That said, in many ways, the D chord does mark a kind of ending — and hopefully, as you work through it, you’ll begin to see why.
Let’s begin with the basics: the open-position D chord and, as a D-shaped barre chord, starting up at fret 12. You’ll find both laid out clearly in the Chordacus image below.
D chord extensions
Thanks to its compact layout, the D chord is the easiest shape to understand when it comes to extensions — though it also offers fewer possibilities compared to other shapes.
You mainly manipulate two notes: the root on string 2 and the 3rd on string 1.
Below are some potential extensions built from the D-shaped chord. If you can see all the intervals around the shape, you can find and play all of these chords:
- D major chord (root, 5th, root, 3rd)
- Dsus2 (root, 5, root, 2)
- Dsus4 (root, 5, root, 4)
- D7sus4 (root, 5, b7, 4)
- Dmaj7 (root, 5, 7, 3)
- D7 (root, 5, b7, 3)
- D6 (root, 5, 6, 3)
- D6/9 (root, 3, 6, 9)
- Dmaj9 (root, 5, 7, 9)
- D9 (root, 3, b7, 9)
- D7#9 (root, 3, b7, #9)
- D7b9 (root, 3, b7, b9)
As with all chords, the goal isn’t just to memorise these shapes — you need to use them in context. That means playing actual songs, moving around the neck, and building guitar parts using the CAGED system.
Here are some songs from the beginner and intermediate acoustic courses that use a D chord or a D-shaped chord:
- Babylon
- Blowin’ In The Wind
- Hey There Delilah
- Mad World
- Redemption Song
- Rewind (2nd guitar)
- Robin Hood
- Talking About A Revolution
- Time Of Your Life
- Whistle For The Choir
- Wonderwall
Perhaps the best example for working with the D shape is Soul Man, found in the intermediate electric course.
Building scales and arpeggios around the D chord/shape
There’s a lot more you can do with the D shape. Just like with all the other CAGED chord shapes, you can build a maj7 arpeggio, a dom7 arpeggio, a major pentatonic, the Ionian mode (major scale), Lydian, and Mixolydian — all from this one shape.
Below are all the intervals you need to construct these arpeggios and scales around the D-shaped chord.
If you can clearly see the intervals surrounding the chord shape, you can visualise and play all of these scales and arpeggios.
The D Chord | Related Pages
Guitar chords
You can learn how to build all major and minor guitar chords using the so-called CAGED system.
This forms the foundation for extending chords and developing arpeggios and modes across the entire fretboard.
The Dm chord
As the smallest of all minor CAGED chords, the open-position Dm is straightforward to fret and understand.
Even when turned into a barre chord, it clearly shows how you can build any chord, arpeggio, or mode using the Dm shape.
Beginner Acoustic
This collection of beginner acoustic songs will help you learn how to arrange for a single acoustic guitar and create a supporting part.
By playing songs, you’ll improve your chord transitions and gain the theoretical understanding needed to make sense of how music works on the guitar.