D#maj7 electric guitar chord

D#maj7 (D sharp major seventh) is built from D#, F##, A# and C##, the degrees 1–3–5–7. On electric guitar, the main shape is x 6 8 7 8 6, the first diagram, marked with the star. It sounds the same as E♭maj7 (Eb, G, Bb and D), the usual name in flat keys.

An empty café at ten in the morning, somebody drying cups, quiet music nobody chose but everybody approves of. That music is full of chords like D#maj7. Hit play below.

Hear D#maj7 before you play

Why D#maj7 sounds this way

Here's the curious part: D, the new note, lives a half step from D# — that close, it should grind. And it does. But G and A# hold the room, so the grind turns into shimmer instead of a fight. Now listen to the arpeggio, one note at a time all the way to the last note and wait: you'll feel the spark without the fire. It's danger with a seatbelt on — which is why it sounds expensive.

How to play D#maj7 on electric guitar

On the electric guitar a chord needs only a few clear notes — the amp sustains them and fills the space, so you mute the strings you are not playing and let the tone carry the rest. So go with the first position below; it's the main shape — that's why it carries the ⭐. Then do the before-and-after: D#, then D#maj7. The second is the first one after sunset. Repeat until it stops sounding "wrong" — for a lot of people this chord feels odd on the first listen and addictive by the third.

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The mid-neck positions are the favorites of anyone backing a singer: up there, a maj7 turns into carpet. File that away for the day you play with someone.

D#maj7 notes and degrees

D#maj7 stacks the root D#, the major third F##, the perfect fifth A# and the major seventh C##.

Where D#maj7 shows up

Across keys, D#maj7 works as Imaj7 in D# major, IVmaj7 in A# major — almost always the deluxe I or the elegant IV. It was bossa nova's signature and became the world's: today it shows up from jazz to indie without asking permission.

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Where D#maj7 usually goes

Treating D#maj7 as the home chord (I) of its key, it tends to go toward the pre-dominant (Fm / Ab) or the dominant (Bb / D°), and the dominant pulls back home. It's a tendency, not a law.

Going beyond D#maj7

For improvising, D# Ionian (D# E# F## G# A# B# C## · 1 2 3 4 5 6 7: the plain major scale, where everything starts); D# Lydian (D# E# F## G## A# B# C## · 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7: the major scale with a raised fourth — one extra step of daydream); D# Lydian ♯2 (D# E## F## G## A# B# C## · 1 #2 3 #4 5 6 7: a lydian with a raised second, harmonic-major color) wrap the whole chord. And the jazz shapes at the end are the same four notes spread across the neck, for the day you want to sound like an arranger.

Scales to improvise over D#maj7

To improvise over D#maj7 as home, the D# Ionian scale fits entirely: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want. And when the dominant (Bb) pulls back, the leading tone D is the note that wants to resolve home.

Swaps that work:

• Cm7Cm7Cm7Cm7 — Relative minor (vi) — same tonic function
• Gm7Gm7Gm7Gm7 — Mediant (iii) — tonic function

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D#maj7 jazz voicings

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And when the song wants solid ground again, the way back is short: plain D#. Drop the seventh, close the window — the house is still there.

Updated October 20, 2026