Sevenths
D♯ minor-major 7th chord
Mysterious and cinematic — think spy-movie themes.
- Notes
- D♯F♯A♯C𝄪
- Formula
- 1♭357
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th · major 7th
How to play D♯m(maj7)
About the D♯ minor-major 7th chord
Playing it
On guitar, the usual D♯m(maj7) shape is xx1332 at the 1st fret. It has no open strings, so it’s a movable shape — slide it along the neck for other minor-major 7th chords. Don’t strum the low E and A strings.
On piano, D♯m(maj7) has three black keys (D♯, F♯ and A♯) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual D♯m(maj7) shape is 7666, with a small 3-string barre at the 6th fret.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form F♯aug (F♯ A♯ C𝄪) — so you can think of D♯m(maj7) as F♯aug with D♯ added underneath.
Move a single note and D♯m(maj7) becomes a different chord: drop the C𝄪 for D♯m, raise F♯ to F𝄪 for D♯maj7, lower C𝄪 to C♯ for D♯m7 and swap C𝄪 for B♯ for D♯m6.
Where you’ll hear it
Notice the C𝄪 in D♯m(maj7) (D♯ F♯ A♯ C𝄪): each note of the chord takes its own letter (D–F–A–C), so the major 7th has to be written C𝄪 rather than D — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
