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Piano chord

D Dominant 7th Chord

D7 is a dominant 7th chord built on D. It contains the notes D – F♯ – A – C.

D7

Also written: Ddom7

  • D
  • F♯
  • A
  • C

Notes in D7

Count up from D using the intervals below. The formula shows each note relative to the D major scale.

NotesIntervalsFormulaSemitones
DRoot10
F♯Major 3rd34
APerfect 5th57
CMinor 7th♭710

How to play D7 on piano

  • Right hand: fingers 1–2–3–5 (thumb on D).
  • Left hand: fingers 5–3–2–1, or play just the root in the left hand and the other notes in the right.
  • Inversions keep your hand closer to the previous chord — see below.

D7 inversions

An inversion puts a different note of D7 at the bottom. The notes stay the same, the colour and voice leading change.

  • Root position

    D7

    D – F♯ – A – C

  • 1st inversion

    D7/F♯

    F♯ – A – C – D

  • 2nd inversion

    D7/A

    A – C – D – F♯

  • 3rd inversion

    D7/C

    C – D – F♯ – A

About dominant 7th chords

The dominant 7th wants to move — it creates tension that demands resolution. The sound of blues and rock 'n' roll.

Sound: Tense & bluesy

Songs that use it

  • Johnny B. Goode · Chuck Berry
    Rock
  • The Thrill Is Gone · B.B. King
    Blues
  • La Grange · ZZ Top
    Blues Rock

Keys that contain D7

D7 is built only from notes of these keys. The Roman numeral shows its role in each key.

Hear D7 with different sounds and compare it with other chords in the interactive builder.

Open in the chord builder

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