semicord

Dbmaj7 Db major seventh chord

Notes
Db F Ab C
Formula
1 3 5 7
Semitones
0 4 7 11 above the root
Also written
C#maj7 (C# E# G# B#)
Other symbols
DbM7, DbΔ7

Db to F is a major third (4 semitones), F to Ab is a minor third (3 semitones), Ab to C is a major third (4 semitones). A major triad plus the note a half step below the root (C). It has no tritone, so it sounds settled and soft rather than restless like Db7.

Dbmaj7 on the piano

C4D4E4F4G4A4B4C5D5E5F5G5A5B5Db4Eb4F#4Ab4Bb4C#5Eb5F#5Ab5Bb5C4DbFAbCC5

Root position from Db4: Db4, F4, Ab4, C5. Middle C is C4.

Dbmaj7 on the guitar

Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has Db as its lowest note.

4fr×DbDbAbAbCCFFAbAb
A-shape barre, root on the A string at fret 4
x 4 6 5 6 4 (low E to high e)
Sounds Db3 Ab3 C4 F4 Ab4
9frDbDb×CCFFAbAb×
E-shape barre, root on the E string at fret 9
9 x 10 10 9 x (low E to high e)
Sounds Db3 C4 F4 Ab4

The barre shapes are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play major seventh chords on other roots.

Inversions of Dbmaj7

An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.

PositionNotes, bass firstNamedListen
Root positionDb F Ab CDbmaj7
1st inversionF Ab C DbDbmaj7/F
2nd inversionAb C Db FDbmaj7/Ab
3rd inversionC Db F AbDb/C (also read as Dbmaj7/C)

Where Dbmaj7 fits

Dbmaj7 is Imaj7 in Db major, IVmaj7 in Ab major.