How To Play a D7 Guitar Chord | Guitarkind (2024)

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:

1st (root note)

3rd (Major 3rd)

5th (Perfect 5th)

b7th (Flat 7th)

Notes in a D7 Guitar Chord

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.

Happy Playing!