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The Dmaj7 chord on guitar, open and up the neck

Dmaj7 is the rare chord that sounds sophisticated and is easier to play than the plain chord it comes from. Take a D major, drop one note on the B string by a fret, and you have it: D, F#, A and C#. The open shape needs a single finger. The real work is in the picking hand, which has to start on the D string, and in the ear, which has to stop mixing it up with D7.

Dmaj7 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: D major seventh
  • Symbol: Dmaj7
  • Notes: D, F#, A, C#
  • Where it belongs: Imaj7 in D major, IVmaj7 in A major, VImaj7 in F# minor, IIImaj7 in B minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
Dmaj7, open xx0222 D A C# F# The one you will use most: the first finger lies across the top three strings at fret 2, and the open D is the root.
Dmaj7, fifth fret x57675 D A C# F# A The Cmaj7 shape moved up two frets. Movable, no open strings, a rounder sound for soul and pop.
Dmaj7, closed and low x5422x D F# A C# D, F#, A, C# from the bass up, nothing doubled. A jazz voicing: mute the low E and the high E.
Dmaj7, open x x 0 2 2 2 · · · 1 1 1 fingers
Dmaj7, fifth fret x 5 7 6 7 5 · 1 3 2 4 1 fingers
Dmaj7, closed and low x 5 4 2 2 x · 4 3 1 1 · fingers

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

Dmaj7 on the neck: every D, F#, A, C#

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Dmaj7: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Dmaj7.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
2 - B
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
3 - G
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
4 - D
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
5 - A
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
6 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E

The open Dmaj7, step by step

  1. Lay the first finger across the G, B and high E strings, right behind the second fret. Only those three strings: the tip ends on the high E, the D string stays free.
  2. Strum from the D string down. The low E and the A string do not belong to this shape: aim past them, or let the thumb rest lightly on them.
  3. Pick the four strings one at a time. You should hear D, A, C# and F#. If the open D sounds dull, the finger is lying on it: tilt the hand so the finger starts on the G string.

If a flat finger feels odd, use three fingers instead: first on the G string, second on the B, third on the high E, all at fret 2. Same notes, same chord. The one-finger version is faster to grab; the three-finger version is cleaner on a guitar with high action.

From the open D chord (xx0232), only the B string changes: fret 3 becomes fret 2, D becomes C#. Play D, then Dmaj7, then D again, and listen to that one note slide.

Dmaj7, D7 and D: one string tells them apart

The three chords share the open D, the A and the F#. The B string decides which one you play.

Chord Shape Notes How it sounds
D xx0232 D, F#, A Bright and finished
Dmaj7 xx0222 D, F#, A, C# Soft, open, at rest
D7 xx0212 D, F#, A, C Restless, leans toward G

Play the three in a row, D, Dmaj7, D7, then resolve to G (320003). That is a line moving down by half steps inside the chord, D to C# to C to B, and it is one of the oldest tricks in pop songwriting. The D7 chord page covers the second half of it.

Dmaj7 at the fifth fret

x57675 is the Cmaj7 shape slid up two frets. The first finger bars the fifth fret from the A string to the high E, the second finger goes on the G string at fret 6, the third on the D string at fret 7, the fourth on the B string at fret 7. The low E stays silent.

Because it has no open strings, it moves: two frets lower it is Cmaj7, two frets higher Emaj7. It also sounds warmer and less jangly than the open shape, which is why it turns up in soul and neo-soul comping.

x5422x is the jazz player's version: root on the A string, then F#, A and C# stacked in order, nothing doubled. Mute the low E with the tip of the fourth finger and the high E with the underside of the first. Of the three shapes it is the hardest to keep clean, and the most transparent when it is.

Where Dmaj7 goes

As a major seventh, Dmaj7 is a resting chord. It is home in the key of D and the IV chord in the key of A, where the move A to Dmaj7 is a staple of soft pop and soul. A few loops to practice, four beats per chord:

Progression Shapes What to listen for
Dmaj7, Gmaj7 xx0222, 320002 Two major sevenths in a row: the whole loop floats, nothing resolves.
D, Dmaj7, D7, G xx0232, xx0222, xx0212, 320003 The B string walks down D, C#, C, then lands on G's B.
Dmaj7, Bm, Gmaj7, A xx0222, x24432, 320002, x02220 I, vi, IV, V in D with sevenths on the major chords.
Dmaj7, Em7 xx0222, 022030 I to ii: a gentle back and forth that suits fingerpicking.

If the Bm barre slows you down, the B minor chord page has shapes without one.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Dmaj7 on guitar?
Play xx0222: leave the D string open, and press the G, B and high E strings at the second fret. You can use three fingers (first, second, third) or lay the first finger flat across all three. Do not play the low E or the A string. The open D is the root and should ring clearly.
What notes are in a Dmaj7 chord?
Four: D, F#, A and C#. D, F# and A are the D major chord; C# is the major seventh, one half step below the root. That C# is what gives the chord its soft, floating sound.
What is the difference between Dmaj7 and D7?
One note. D7 has C natural and wants to move on, usually to G. Dmaj7 has C#, a half step higher, and sounds settled and dreamy. On the guitar the open shapes differ by a single fret on the B string: xx0212 for D7, xx0222 for Dmaj7.
Is Dmaj7 the same as D7?
No, and swapping them changes the song. A chart that says D7 needs the C natural; one that says Dmaj7, DM7 or DΔ needs the C#. The word "maj" in the symbol is the whole difference.
Can I play D instead of Dmaj7?
Yes, as a stand-in. D (xx0232) contains everything in Dmaj7 except the C#, so it never clashes; it just loses the color. When you are sight-reading a chart in a hurry, D is a safe fallback. When you have a second to prepare, the real Dmaj7 is easier than D anyway.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.