D#m7 arpeggio
D# Minor 7 — the notes D#, F#, A#, C# played one at a time, bottom-up and back.
Musical context
How the arpeggio relates to the chord, scale, mode and key.
How to play the arpeggio
Theory
General info
- Full name
- D# Minor 7
- Root
- D#
- Quality
- Minor 7
- Type
- Minor seventh
- Note count
- 4
- Brief character
- Warm, deep, relaxed minor sound. Minor seventh expands the minor triad, adding "air" and a soul flavor.
Deep, soft, dark. Pensiveness, warmth, melancholic relaxation.
Defined by the combination of minor third and minor seventh — the characteristic minor seventh chord.
Notes & degrees
Minor triad + minor seventh: 1-b3-5-b7.
On the piano
An arpeggio is a broken chord: the same notes played one after another rather than together, bottom-up and back. On the piano they are usually split between the two hands — in an accompaniment, for instance, the left hand carries the bass while the right fills in the figuration.
Any chord can be played arpeggiato or turned into figuration — a broken bass, Alberti figures, a waltz accompaniment. Unlike the guitar, where an arpeggio is tied to the order the strings are plucked, there is no fixed fingering “shape” here — evenness and legato between the notes matter most.
Chord basis
Differs from m7b5 by having a perfect fifth (5 instead of b5).
Function and tensions
ii7 in major, i7 in a Dorian context.
Stable in modal context. Transitional in tonal.
Harmonic context
ii7 of major, vi7 of major, i7 of Dorian mode.
Dorian mode, natural minor, minor pentatonic.
Universal structure for soul, R&B, and jazz improvisation.
Compatible scales & modes
All chord tones are contained in these scales — use them for improvisation.
Diatonic chords
This arpeggio on guitar 🎸
See how D#m7 looks on guitar.
Circle of fifths
Keys where this chord functions as a scale degree, on the circle of fifths.
How to play on piano
Practice
Keyboard Trainer
Reinforce it in practice — play and name notes on the interactive keyboard.