The D7 Chord: How To Play This Chord Anywhere | Grow Guitar (2023)

The D7 chord has a long history in the worlds of country and folk music. However, it has also made some appearances in a ton of other genres, as well. When placed in just the right spot of a progression, it can stand out and really make your song pop!

If you are not aware, we love-love-LOVE 7th chords around here. They may be our favorite type of chord. Whether they are major (like A7, B7, or E7) or minor (like Bm7 or Dm7) they always add something special.

Today we will cover how to play the D7 chord, where you can play, and how the chord is constructed so you can build your own chords in the future.

Let’s get into it!

How To Play The D7 Chord

This is the most commonly taught D7 chord. It is played open and just a slight variation of the D major chord.

• index finger (1) on the C note of the B string on the 1st fret
• middle finger (2) on the A note of the G string on the 2nd fret
• ring finger (3) on the F# note of the high e string on the 2nd fret
• play the D string open
• mute the top 2 strings

Here is an alternate way of playing a D7 open chord.

• index finger (1) on the F# note of the high e string on the 2nd fret
• middle finger (2) on the D note of the B string on the 3rd fret
• pinky finger (4) on the C note of the G string on the 5th fret
• play the D string open
• mute the top 2 strings

Now we are starting to move a bit further up the neck. We aren’t quite in barre chord territory yet.

• index finger (1) on the D note of the B string on the 3rd fret
• middle finger (2) on the F# note of the D string on the 4th fret
• ring finger (3) on the D note of the A string on the 5th fret
• pinky finger (4) on the C note of the G string on the 5th fret
• mute the top and bottom strings

More Variations Of The Chord

Now we are moving into barre chord territory. Some of these are pretty standard to play. However, a few of these chords will give you a real good stretch.

• index finger (1) barred across the bottom 5 strings on the 5th fret
• middle finger (2) on the A note of the D string on the 7th fret
• ring finger (3) on the F# note on the B string at the 7th fret
• mute the low E string

This chord is similar to the one above, with your pinky finger on the 8th fret.

• index finger (1) barred across the middle 4 strings on the 5th fret
• middle finger (2) on the A note of the D string on the 7th fret
• ring finger (3) on the F# note on the B string at the 7th fret
• pinky finger (4) on the A note on the high e string at the 8th fret
• mute the low E string

This is perhaps the most difficult version of this chord. Your fingers will definitely feel the stretch and it will take practice to keep from unintentionally muting strings.

• index finger (1) barred across the D & F# notes of the G & B strings on the 7th fret while muting the high e string
• middle finger (2) on the F# note of the A string on the 9th fret
• ring finger (3) on the D note on the low E string on the 10th fret
• pinky finger (4) on the C note on the D string on the 10th fret

• index finger (1) on the F# note of the A string on the 9th fret
• middle finger (2) on the D note of the low E string on the 10th fret
• ring finger (3) on the C note on the D string on the 10th fret
• pinky finger (4) on the F# note on the G string at the 11th fret
• mute the bottom 2 strings

The Theory Behind It

I can hear the collective groan from all the guitarists out there at the mention of theory. It may not be the most fascinating subject (even though it is once you get into it) but once you understand the relationship between notes and how they all work together your playing will improve exponentially.

Chords are typically built using what is known as a triad. Major chords use major triads and minor chords use minor triads. The formula for those chords are I – III – V for major and I – bIII – V for minor.

To build a D7 chord we must first have a D major chord. The notes of D major are:

• D (I)
• F# (III)
• A (V)

The D major scale looks like this:

To make your D chord a 7th chord, all you need to do is add in a bVII, or flat 7th, note.

• D (I)
• F# (III)
• A (V)
• C (bVII)

What is the difference between a D7 and a Dmaj7?

A D7 is a D major chord, or D major triad, with an added minor 7th. These are sometimes called dominant chords. A Dmaj7, or D major 7th, is a major triad with a major 7th. The chord formula would look like this.

D7

• D (I)
• F# (III)
• A (V)
• C (bVII)

Dmaj7

• D (I)
• F# (III)
• A (V)
• C# (VII)

Complementary Chords

This is where chords get fun. Throwing them into a progression with other chords is how you make your own songs or play the songs you love. To build a progression we use a similar approach to building a chord. We will start with the D major note scale and apply this formula: I – ii – iii – IV – V – vi – vii°.

Note: when a scale degree is lower case (example “iii”) that means it is a minor chord. When a note contains the degree symbol (°) that means it is a diminished chord.

The chords available in a D major chord scale are:

• D (I)
• Em (ii)
• F#m (iii)
• G (IV)
• A (V)
• Bm (vi)
• C#dim (vii°)

Now to build a progression you just pull chords from the scale degrees listed above. One of the most common chord progressions is I – V – vi – IV (or D – A – Bm – G). We went with something a little different this time and used I7 – IV – IV7 – vi – vi7 – V – V7 progression, or D7 – G – G7 – Bm – Bm7 – A – A7.

This is how you play that progression:

(Video) How to Play Any Chord, Anywhere on the Neck (Part 2) - 7ths, sus and Extensions

(Video) How to Play the D7 major Chord on the Acoustic Guitar. #shorts

A Couple More D7 Chord Variations

In case you don’t have enough versions of this chord already, here are a few more.

This is a pretty simple Am shaped barre chord played all the way up on the 10th fret.

• index finger (1) barred across all 6 strings on the 10th fret
• middle finger (2) fretting the F# note on the G string at the 11th fret
• ring finger (3) fretting the A note on the A string at the 12th fret

This is the same as above with an added high A note for some extra color.

• index finger (1) barred across all 6 strings on the 10th fret
• middle finger (2) fretting the F# note on the G string at the 11th fret
• ring finger (3) fretting the A note on the A string at the 12th fret
• pinky finger (4) fretting the A note on the B string at the 13th fret

Last but not least, we have an open chord but it’s played all the way up on the 11th fret.

• index finger (1) on the F# note of the G string on the 11th fret
• middle finger (2) on the D note of the D string on the 12th fret
• ring finger (3) on the C note of the B string on the 13th fret
• pinky finger (4) on the F# note of the high e string on the 14th fret
• mute the top 2 strings

Songs That Have The D7 Chord

There are a lot of great songs that have a D7 chord in them covering a lot of different genres. Try some of these out. You’re bound to know at least a few.

• From Me To You by The Beatles
• Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song by Larry Butler
• Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash
• Will The Circle Be Unbroken by Johnny Cash
• Deck the Halls – Christmas Standard
• We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Christmas Standard
• Walkin’ After Midnight by Patsy Cline
• Joey by Concrete Blonde
• Today by John Denver
• Why I Sing The Blues by B.B. King
• Me and Bobby McGee by Kris Kristofferson
• Happy Christmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon
• Dancing In The Street by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
• Daydream Believer by The Monkees
• Whiskey River by Willie Nelson
• In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
• Candy by Paolo Nutini
• Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins
• Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel
• America – Standard
• Down In The Valley – Standard
• Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
• Hey Good Lookin’ by Hank Williams
• Tush by ZZ Top

Final Word

I bet you didn’t realize there were so many ways you could play a D7 chord. What’s crazy is there are many other variations we did not mention! Master these and play around by adding a D7 into your chord progressions.

Happy practicing!