DMaj7 Chord - Learn to Play on Guitar & Piano Keyboard

This article on the DMaj7 chord covers its music theory, note patterns on the fretboard, open, movable, and barre patterns, piano layouts, inversions, fingering, etc.

Read the complete article below to learn all about playing the DMaj7 chord!

Music Theory, Notes & Intervals of the DMaj7 Chord

The main aspects of the DMaj7 chord music theory are:

It is formed by stacking a major 3rd interval over the D major chord.
It has note names D, F#, A, and C#, whereby the C# note is stacked over the notes of the D Major triad D, F#, and A.
The three intervals of the chord are R – M3 – m3 – M3.
The intervals of the notes from the root note are R – M3 – P5 – M7.

D Major 7 Chord Scales

The DMaj7 chord is formed naturally in the following scales.

D Major scale and all its modes.
A Major scale and all its modes.
F# Harmonic Minor and all its modes.
D Harmonic Major and all its modes

How To Play the D Major 7 chord

Let us now see how to play the D major 7th chords on the guitar and the piano keyboard.

DMaj7 Guitar Chord – Map Chord Tones Along The Fretboard

The chord tones of the DMaj7 chord – D, F#, A, and C# are shown on the fretboard in the first octave to provide you with an overview of their layout. You are advised to observe the same and familiarize yourself.

D Major Seventh Chord – Guitar Chord Shapes and Fingerings

You can now learn how the DMaj7 guitar chord is played in open, movable, and barre configurations.

To read the chord diagrams shown below, consider the following,

The numbers in the black circles represent the fret numbers to fret the strings.
The numbers in red circles represent the finger positions.
The string marked ‘X’ is to be skipped or muted.
The string marked ‘O’ is to be played open.

Here

1 – Index Finger,
2 – Middle Finger,
3 – Ring finger,
4 – Little Finger.

Open Positions

The three open-position voicings of the D Major 7th chord are described below:

O1 – Construction – (x – x – 0 – 2 – 2 – 2). Notes – (1, 5, 7, and 3).
O2 – Construction – (2 – x – 0 – 2 – 2 – x). Notes – (3, 1, 5, and 7). F# is the bass note on the second fret of the low e string (1st inversion).
O3 – Construction – (x – 0 – 0 – 2 – 2 – 2). Notes – (5, 1, 5, 7, and 3). A is the bass note (2nd Inversion).

Movable Positions

The six movable chord shapes are shown in the chord charts below. The explanations are as under:

M1 – Construction – (x – 5 – 4 – 6 – x – x). Notes – (1, 3, and 7). This is a three-note voicing.
M2 – Construction – (x – x – 4 – 6 – 3 – 5). Notes – (3, 7, 1, and 5). This four-note voicing has F# as the bass note.
M3 – Construction – (x – 5 – 7 – 6 – 7 – x). Notes – (1, 5, 7, and 3).
M4 – Construction – (10 – x – 11 – 11 – 10 – x). Notes – (1, 7, 3, and 5).
M5 – Construction – (x – x – 12 – 11 – 10 – 9). Notes – (1, 3, 5, and 7).
M6 – Construction – (14 – x – 12 – 14 – 14 – x). Notes – (3, 1, 5, and 7). F# as the bass note.

Barre Chord Shapes

You can now look at the six-barre shapes for playing the Dmaj7 chord. The chord diagram for each voicing shows the details about playing these guitar chords.

B1 – (1, 5, 7, and 3). The chord can be played with just one finger in this voicing.
B2 – (5, 1, 5, 7, and 3). A is the bass note.
B3 – (1, 3, 5, 7, and 3).
B4 – (1, 5, 7, 3, and 5).
B5 – (5, 1, 3, and 7). A is the bass note.
B6 – (7, 3, 5, and 1). C# is the bass note.