semicord

Dmaj7 D major seventh chord

Notes
D F# A C#
Formula
1 3 5 7
Semitones
0 4 7 11 above the root
Other symbols
DM7, DΔ7

D to F# is a major third (4 semitones), F# to A is a minor third (3 semitones), A 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 D7.

Dmaj7 on the piano

C4D4E4F4G4A4B4C5D5E5F5G5A5B5C#4Eb4F#4Ab4Bb4C#5Eb5F#5Ab5Bb5C4DF#AC5C#

Root position from D4: D4, F#4, A4, C#5. Middle C is C4.

Dmaj7 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 D as its lowest note.

××DAAC#C#F#F#
Open position
x x 0 2 2 2 (low E to high e)
Sounds D3 A3 C#4 F#4
5fr×DDAAC#C#F#F#AA
A-shape barre, root on the A string at fret 5
x 5 7 6 7 5 (low E to high e)
Sounds D3 A3 C#4 F#4 A4
10frDD×C#C#F#F#AA×
E-shape barre, root on the E string at fret 10
10 x 11 11 10 x (low E to high e)
Sounds D3 C#4 F#4 A4

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 Dmaj7

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 positionD F# A C#Dmaj7
1st inversionF# A C# DDmaj7/F#
2nd inversionA C# D F#Dmaj7/A
3rd inversionC# D F# AD/C# (also read as Dmaj7/C#)

Where Dmaj7 fits

Dmaj7 is Imaj7 in D major, IVmaj7 in A major.