Chords
D# Minor seventh
D# · F# · A# · C#
The minor seventh chord — a minor triad with a minor seventh. The most useful chord in jazz and soul.
Also written D#min7 · D#mi7 · D#-7
D# Minor seventh
D# · F# · A# · C#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | D#3 · F#3 · A#3 · C#4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | A#2 · D#3 · F#3 · C#4 | |
| Shell | D#3 · F#3 · C#4 | |
| Rootless | F#3 · A#3 · C#4 · E#4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
D# Minor seventh (D#m7) contains the notes D# · F# · A# · C#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords
Inversions
An inversion of D# Minor seventh puts a chord tone other than D# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales D# Minor seventh belongs to.
In which keys
D# Minor seventh is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
D# Minor seventh fits inside these scales, each built on D#.
- D# Minor PentatonicD# · F# · G# · A# · C#
- D# Minor BluesD# · F# · G# · A · A# · C#
- D# MinorD# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B · C#
- D# DorianD# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B# · C#
- D# PhrygianD# · E · F# · G# · A# · B · C#
- D# Dorian b2D# · E · F# · G# · A# · B# · C#
- D# Bebop LocrianD# · E · F# · G# · A · A# · B · C#
Understanding the D# Minor seventh chord
Names and symbols
D#m7 is the chord symbol for D# Minor seventh; it is also written D#min7, D#mi7, D#-7.
D# Minor seventh and Eb Minor seventh are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Eb Minor seventh
How it is built
On D# it is D# · F# · A# · C#, stacking 1P · 3m · 5P · 7m. Both added intervals are minor, which keeps the chord dark but soft — there is no tritone inside it, so it carries no obligation to move.
How it is used
It is the ii of a major key and therefore the opening chord of the ii–V–I, the single most common progression in jazz. It is also the i of a modal minor vamp, where its lack of tension is exactly what lets a groove sit still for eight bars.
Soul, R&B and neo-soul lean on it for the same reason: it is rich enough to be interesting and stable enough to loop.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in D#m7?
- D#m7 contains D# · F# · A# · C#. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- What is the difference between m7 and m/maj7?
- The seventh. A minor seventh chord uses a minor seventh; a minor-major seventh raises it to a major seventh, which makes the chord far more tense.
- Where is a minor seventh chord used?
- As the ii of a ii–V–I, as the tonic of a modal minor vamp, and throughout soul and R&B where its stability suits looping.
- What notes are in the D# Minor seventh chord?
- The D# Minor seventh chord contains the notes D# · F# · A# · C#: the root D# with the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P, 7m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally D#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the D# Minor seventh chord?
- Measured from D#, the D# Minor seventh chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P, 7m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.