The D Major 7 chord (also written as D Maj 7) contains the notes D, F#, A and C#. It is produced by taking the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the D Major scale. It is essentially a D Major chord, with the 7th note of the Major scale added.
The D Major 7 chord is a popular guitar chord. Most Major 7 chords are played mainly as bar chords, but the D Major 7 chord is very often played as an open chord (see the first shape below).
The Major 7 chord in general is considered a kind of default chord, as it contains no altered notes of the Major scale (1, 3, 5, 7). It can also be used as a starting point, when figuring out other chords that have the same root note. For example, the D minor 7 chord can be produced by lowering the 3rd and 7th of the D Major 7 chord.
10 Ways To Play The D Major 7 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for D Major 7, here they are.
Some Quick D Major 7 Chord Theory
- The D Major 7 chord contains the notes D, F#, A and C#.
- The D Major 7 chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), 3, 5 and 7 of the D Major scale.
- The D Major 7 chord (just like all Major 7 chords) contains the following intervals (starting from the root note): major 3rd, minor 3rd, major 3rd, semitone (which leads back to the root note).
- The D Major 7 chord is the first chord in the key of D and the fourth chord in the key of A.
- The D Major 7 chord works well with the Bm7 chord (relative minor).
- The D Major scale and D Lydian mode can be used when soloing over the D Major 7 chord.
Further Reading
