The D7 chord—also known as “D Dominant 7″—is an important guitar chord for you to know. Here are two guitar fingerings for a D7 chord. The first fingering is an open chord in the first position. The second is a barre chord at the 5th fret. Continue reading for an explanation and example of where you can use the D7 fingerings below, and and why D7 is an essential chord type for you to know.
D7 Guitar Chord Shapes
What Is a D7 Chord?
A D7 is what is referred to as a “Dominant Seventh” chord. Without getting too far into the weeds of music theory, a Dominant Seventh chord is a 4 note 7th chord built from a Major scale, where the 7th note of the scale is flattened 1 half step (1 fret in guitar terms). Example #1 (left, above) is fingered at the 1st and 2nd fret, and utilizes open strings. The root of the chord is D, which is the open 4th string. Example two is fingered on the 5th fret. This time, the root note of D is found on the 5th string, 5th fret.
Dominant Seventh Chord Formula
A scale degree is the position that a note appears in a scale. Based on the Major Scale, a Dominant Seventh Chord contains the following scale degrees:
As we saw above, the scale degrees of an D7 chord are 1, 3 ,5, b7. These equate to the following notes on the guitar:
1st: D
3rd: F#
5th: A
b7th: C
These intervals will be the same for any dominant chord, but the notes will be different.For example, the notes of an A7 chord will be the same scale degrees as a D7, but the actual notes will be different.
What is the sound of a D7 Chord?
You can think of a Dominant Seventh chord as a Major Chord with an added flat 7th note. Dominant chords sound similar to a Major chord, with added tension from the the b7th note. In an D7 chord, this note is a C.
The flat 7th of a Dominant chord creates what is referred to as a “Tritone” interval between the b7th (C) and the Major 3rd (F#). Tritones have a very recognizable sound, and the combination of the Major 3rd and the b7th is what gives Dominant chords their characteristic sound.
The sound of dominant chords is often characterized as “restless”. Because of this, your ear seeks to have the harmony move to another chord for resolution. This is an example of tension and release.
Difference Between Dominant 7th Chord and Major 7th Chord
Do not confuse a Dominant Seventh chord with a Major Seventh Chord, as they sound very different. A Major Seventh chord is a Major chord with a “natural” 7th, instead of a flat 7th. In a D7 chord, this note is a C. In a DMaj7 chord, this note would be C#.
How is a D7 Chord Used In Music?
D7 is an example of a Dominant Seventh chord, and quite simply, they are used everywhere: Rock, Blues, Jazz—you name it. The best way to understand how a chord sounds is to get it under your fingers so you can play it, and the best way to do that is to place it in a musical context. One of the most popular uses for dominant chords is in Blues progressions, and the most fundamental blues progression is what is known as the “Twelve Bar Blues.” See our article on the A7 Chord for more on how to use D7 in a 12-Bar Blues.
Summary
Keep in mind that we’ve only shown you two of the many ways to play a D7 chord on the guitar. When you feel confident with these basic shapes, move on and explore other dominant chord shapes. Being able to voice a chord in multiple ways will add color and variation to your rhythm playing.When you know multiple voicings of D7, you’ll be able to vary your rhythm playing to suit the melody of the song you are playing.
The D dominant 7th chord has the notes D F♯ A C. The 3 inversions to the D dominant 7th chord are F♯ A C D, A C D F♯ and C D F♯ A. The intervals of the D7 chord are the root (D) , major third (F♯) , perfect fifth (A) and minor seventh (C) .
The D dominant 7th chord has the notes D F♯ A C. The 3 inversions to the D dominant 7th chord are F♯ A C D, A C D F♯ and C D F♯ A. The intervals of the D7 chord are the root (D) , major third (F♯) , perfect fifth (A) and minor seventh (C) .
To play the open D7 chord, start by placing your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the G string.Next, put your index finger on the 1st fret of the B string.Lastly, place your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string.
The D7 chord, pronounced "D dominant seventh," is a versatile and commonly used chord in various musical genres. It adds a bluesy, slightly dissonant sound to progressions, making it popular in blues, rock, and folk music.
D7 is a secondary dominant chord in C major. The dominant chord of a given key is the fifth chord that is generated from stacking the notes of the scale in thirds. So, if we take the key of C major [C D E F G A B], and we stack these notes in thirds, we get the following chords: I∆7 - [C E G B]
The most common way to use the D7 chord in a chord progression is by using the D chord as a dominant chord leading towards the G chord using the key of D major.
Dominant seventh chords are often built on the fifth scale degree (or dominant) of a key. For instance, in the C major scale, G is the fifth note of the scale, and the seventh chord built on G is the dominant seventh chord, G7 (shown above). In this chord, F is a minor seventh above G.
This is called an E minor chord and it's an extremely common chord. The term minor refers to a type of chord that sounds quite sad to most of us. You'll learn much more about all that later on. I'm just strumming with my thumb, but of course you can use any of your fingers or even a pick if you're already using that.
All you have to do to get to a D7 chord from the D is remove your fourth finger. A variation on Ex. 6a is shown in Example 6b. This D7 shape is the same, but by adding your fourth finger to string 2, fret 13, you are doubling the flatted seventh that is also played an octave lower, on string 4, fret 10.
Dmaj7 and D7 differ by just one note (as would any similar pair, eg, C7 and Cmaj7), and they're a semitone apart. So, whereas Dmaj7 has a major 7, D7 uses a b7 - a C note. If you can see the notes changing, you're halfway to understanding the theory.
The D dominant 9th chord has the notes D F♯ A C E.The D9 chord is a D dominant 7th chord (D7 chord), with a major ninth added on top. The intervals of the D9 chord are the root (D) , major third (F♯) , perfect fifth (A) , minor seventh (C) and major ninth (E) .
Dominant seventh chords are often built on the fifth scale degree (or dominant) of a key. For instance, in the C major scale, G is the fifth note of the scale, and the seventh chord built on G is the dominant seventh chord, G7 (shown above). In this chord, F is a minor seventh above G.
Introduction: My name is Lidia Grady, I am a thankful, fine, glamorous, lucky, lively, pleasant, shiny person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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