As the tonic (I)D major
Home. The loop leaves Dmaj7 and keeps coming back to it.
Dmaj7 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The Dmaj7 chord is a major seventh chord built on the root note D. Its notes are D, F♯, A and C♯.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Major seventh chords are lush, open and slightly jazzy. Stacking a major third on top of a major triad gives them a dreamy colour often heard in bossa nova, soul and modern R&B.
- Notes
- D · F♯ · A · C♯
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 7
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 11
- Note
- D
- Quality
- Major 7
- Symbol
- Dmaj7
Dmaj7 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play Dmaj7 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on D, index finger on F♯, middle finger on A and little finger on C♯. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard F♯ and C♯ are black keys and D and A are white. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- D1
- F♯3
- A5
- C♯7
Dmaj7 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, Dmaj7 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. String 4 rings open. Don't play strings 6 and 5.
D · F♯ · A · C♯
Play Dmaj7 on the online piano
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Dmaj7 chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | F♯(F#) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | A | |
| 7 | Major seventh | 11 | C♯(C#) |
How to use the Dmaj7 chord
The Dmaj7 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a major 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.
Major seventh chords colour jazz standards, bossa nova, soul and modern pop. They most often serve as Imaj7 or IVmaj7 in a major key to add warmth without changing the function.
In major keys Dmaj7 is the Imaj7 in D major and the IVmaj7 in A major; in minor keys it's the IIImaj7 in B minor and the VImaj7 in F♯ minor.
How Dmaj7 differs from similar chords
Dmaj7 is not D7: its seventh sits a half step below the root rather than a whole step, so it floats instead of pulling. Next to D6, which adds the sixth instead, Dmaj7 sounds lusher and more modern. The major seventh is the only note that separates it from a plain D triad.
Where Dmaj7 is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
As the IVA major
- Imaj7Amaj7
- IVmaj7Dmaj7
- V7E7
- Imaj7Amaj7
Dmaj7 is the step away from home that makes the return feel like a return.
As the goal of a ii-V-ID major
The oldest cadence there is: two chords of preparation, then Dmaj7.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the Dmaj7 chord?
- The Dmaj7 chord contains D, F♯, A and C♯ (D, F#, A and C# in plain text).
- Is the Dmaj7 chord major or minor?
- Dmaj7 is a major seventh chord. Major seventh chords are lush, open and slightly jazzy. Stacking a major third on top of a major triad gives them a dreamy colour often heard in bossa nova, soul and modern R&B.
- What key is the Dmaj7 chord in?
- In major keys Dmaj7 is the Imaj7 in D major and the IVmaj7 in A major; in minor keys it's the IIImaj7 in B minor and the VImaj7 in F♯ minor.
- How do you play Dmaj7 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. On the keyboard F♯ and C♯ are black keys and D and A are white.
- How do you play Dmaj7 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. String 4 rings open. Don't play strings 6 and 5.
- What chords work well with Dmaj7?
- Dmaj7 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.