D7 chord on guitar

D7 is the D seventh chord, made of the notes D F# A C. Most guitarists play it as X X 0 2 1 2, an open chord. Below are all 6 ways to hold D7 on the guitar, from the lowest on the neck to the highest, and the same chord in Drop D and DADGAD. The TabTunix app plays each one. Check out our full chord library.

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1fr213
D7

X X 0 2 1 2

Notes

Degrees: R 3 5 b7. Notes: D F# A C.

Tuning

Inversions

Voicings

How to play D7

The shape most players use is X X 0 2 1 2, from the lowest string to the highest. Hold it like this:

  1. Put your middle finger on the G string at fret 2.
  2. Put your index finger on the B string at fret 1.
  3. Put your ring finger on the high E string at fret 2.
  4. Let the D string ring open.
  5. Do not play the low E and A strings.
1fr213
D7
X X 0 2 1 2

6 ways to play D7

Every shape the chord library holds for D7 in standard tuning, from low on the neck to high. In each one D is the lowest note; they differ in where your hand sits and in which strings ring.

More shapes, for every chord: all guitar chords.

  • 1fr213
    D7
    X X 0 2 1 2
    open shape
  • 3fr3241
    D7
    X 5 4 5 3 X
    closed shape at fret 3
  • 5fr34
    D7
    X 5 7 5 7 5
    barre at fret 5
  • 7fr432
    D7
    10 9 7 7 7 8
    barre at fret 7
  • 9fr2134
    D7
    10 9 10 11 X X
    closed shape at fret 9
  • 10fr32
    D7
    10 12 10 11 10 10
    barre at fret 10

The notes in D7

R35b7
DF#AC

A seventh chord is the root, the major third, the fifth and the minor seventh: R 3 (5) b7. The fifth can be left out.

Put another of its notes in the bass and D7 becomes an inversion, written with a slash: D7/F#, D7/A and D7/C. Below, the first shape of each.

  • 1fr2314
    D7/F#
    2 0 0 2 1 2
  • 1fr213
    D7/A
    X 0 0 2 1 2
  • 1fr4213
    D7/C
    X 3 0 2 1 2

Keys and progressions with D7

D7 is one of the chords of these keys, with its number in each. The chords of a key are the chords built on the notes of its scale.

  • V7 in G major
  • bVII7 in E minor

It stands in these chord progressions of the app, in the key each opens in:

  • 12-Bar Blues in A major: A7, D7, E7
  • 8-Bar Blues in A major: A7, E7, D7

In the 12-Bar Blues every chord is a seventh: in A major it is A7, D7 and E7, in E major E7, A7 and B7.

D7 in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD

  • In Drop D, D7 is 0 0 0 2 1 2, where Standard has X X 0 2 1 2.
  • In Drop C, D7 is 2 2 0 1 0 0, where Standard has X X 0 2 1 2.
  • In Drop B, D7 is 3 3 1 2 1 1, where Standard has X X 0 2 1 2.
  • In DADGAD, D7 is 0 0 0 2 3 4, where Standard has X X 0 2 1 2.

More on each tuning: Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD, all under guitar tunings.

  • 1fr213
    D7 in Drop D
    0 0 0 2 1 2
  • 1fr231
    D7 in Drop C
    2 2 0 1 0 0
  • 1fr342
    D7 in Drop B
    3 3 1 2 1 1
  • 1fr123
    D7 in DADGAD
    0 0 0 2 3 4

Get the change up to tempo

A chord is yours when you can change to it in time. In TabTunix, put D7 and the chord before it into a chord-change exercise, set a target tempo, and play the change to a click that counts you through it. Rate each take, and the app keeps your best tempo, so you see it climb.

More on how to change chords faster.

Questions about D7

D, F#, A and C. As degrees they are R 3 (5) b7: the root, the major third, the fifth and the minor seventh.