D7 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes

The D7 chord is a dominant seventh chord built on the root note D. Its notes are D, F♯, A and C.

Dominant seventh chords sound tense and bluesy. The minor seventh on top of a major triad creates a pull toward a resolution, which is why this chord powers the blues and drives cadences in jazz and pop.

Guitar shapes Piano fingering

Root

Quality

D7 on piano

View:

Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.

To play D7 on piano, place your right-hand thumb on D, then index, middle and little finger on F♯, A and C. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.

D7 on guitar

View:

Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.

On guitar, D7 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. Strum only the strings marked as active in the diagram.

Play the chord

D · F♯ · A · C

D7 chord notes

Formula: 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7Notes: D · F♯ · A · C

Degree	Interval	Semitones	Note
1	Root	0	D
3	Major third	4	F♯(F#)
5	Perfect fifth	7	A
♭7	Minor seventh	10	C

How to use the D7 chord

The D7 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a minor seventh. Start at the root D and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: D, F♯, A and C. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.

Blues, jazz, funk and rock'n'roll all run on dominant seventh chords. They typically act as the V7 resolving back to the tonic, or carry a twelve-bar blues from end to end.

Famous Songs in D7

These well-known tracks all feature the D7 chord - a great way to put it in musical context.

1
So What
Miles Davis
2
Autumn Leaves
Standard
3
On Green Dolphin Street
Standard
4
Blue Bossa
Kenny Dorham
5
Girl from Ipanema
Joao Gilberto

Common progressions

The D7 chord works beautifully in these progressions. Click a chord name to jump to its page.

Dominant resolution

I → ii → V7 → I

G AmD7G

Twelve-bar blues

I7 → IV7 → I7 → V7

D7G7D7A7

Jazz turnaround

I → vi → ii → V7

G Em AmD7

Once D7 feels comfortable, the chords below open up new progressions. Each one shares notes, keys or a harmonic function with it, which is what makes it the natural place to go next.

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the D7 chord?

The D7 chord contains D, F♯, A and C (D, F#, A and C in plain text).

Is the D7 chord major or minor?

D7 is a dominant seventh chord. Dominant seventh chords sound tense and bluesy. The minor seventh on top of a major triad creates a pull toward a resolution, which is why this chord powers the blues and drives cadences in jazz and pop.

How do you play D7 on piano?

Place your fingers on D, F♯, A and C and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right.

How do you play D7 on guitar?

D7 is typically played with the fingering shown in the diagram above. If one of the chord tones lines up with an open string, an open position is worth trying too.

What chords work well with D7?

D7 pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.

Keep exploring

Deepen your understanding of the D7 chord with our other music theory tools.

Browse all chords Explore scales Explore progressions Chord Transposer Chord Finder Chords in Key Try the Piano Open Circle of Fifths