D dominant seventh

D7

Also written Ddom7 · D dominant 7

NotesD · F♯ · A · C
Formula1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
D1A5C♭7F♯3
Root position

The dominant seventh: V of G major. D7 resolves to G (or Gm), its 3rd rising a semitone to G and its ♭7 falling to B. The 3rd and ♭7 are a tritone apart, and G♯7 has the same tritone — the tritone substitute.

How pianists voice D7

Nobody plays a jazz chord in root position. These are the shapes that actually get played — the same ones Cadenza shows when you play the chord.

Shell Left hand

D1C♭7F♯3

1 · 3 · ♭7 — root, 3rd and 7th: the three notes that say what the chord is. Left hand, low; everything else is colour.

Rootless A From the 3rd

A5C♭7E9F♯3

3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without D underneath, the same keys read as F♯ø7 — the bass turns them into D7.

Rootless B From the 7th

C♭7E9A5F♯3

♭7 · 9 · 3 · 5 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves.

Drop 2 Two hands

A5D1C♭7F♯3

5 · 1 · 3 · ♭7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.

D7 inversions

The same 4 notes with a different one in the bass. Each inversion is written as a slash chord.

Root position D7

D1A5C♭7F♯3

Root at the bottom, stacked in 3rds: 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7.

1st inversion D7/F♯

A5C♭7D1F♯3

F♯ (the 3) in the bass: 3 · 5 · ♭7 · 1.

2nd inversion D7/A

A5C♭7D1F♯3

A (the 5) in the bass: 5 · ♭7 · 1 · 3.

3rd inversion D7/C

C♭7D1A5F♯3

C (the ♭7) in the bass: ♭7 · 1 · 3 · 5.

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