D-flat Piano Chords
Here we can explore every chord built on D-flat, the first black key of each group of two. The root stays the same from chord to chord; what changes is the distance from D-flat to the notes stacked above it, and that is what gives each chord its own quality and unique sound. Because D-flat is a black key, the right thumb and the left 5th finger start on a black key in root position, so the hand sits further in toward the fallboard than it does for chords built on white keys. D-flat and C-sharp are the same key on the piano. The chords here are spelled from D-flat; C-sharp piano chords spells the same sounds the other way, and which name a chord takes depends on the key it appears in.
The 9 chords built on D-flat
Triads built on D-flat
Four triads can be built on D-flat. Each is three notes stacked in thirds, and they differ only in their third and fifth:
- D-flat major (D♭): D-flat, F, A-flat
- D-flat minor (D♭m): D-flat, F-flat, A-flat, with the third lowered to F-flat
- D-flat diminished (D♭°): D-flat, F-flat, A-double-flat, with the fifth lowered as well, to A-double-flat
- D-flat augmented (D♭+): D-flat, F, A, with the fifth of the major chord raised to A
Try playing them in that order and listening to how a single changed note changes the sound of the whole chord.
Seventh chords built on D-flat
Adding a seventh on top of a triad gives the five seventh chords built on D-flat:
- D-flat dominant 7th (D♭7): the major triad with a minor seventh, D-flat, F, A-flat, C-flat
- D-flat major 7th (D♭maj7): the major triad with a major seventh, D-flat, F, A-flat, C
- D-flat minor 7th (D♭m7): the minor triad with a minor seventh, D-flat, F-flat, A-flat, C-flat
- D-flat half-diminished 7th (D♭ø7): the diminished triad with a minor seventh, D-flat, F-flat, A-double-flat, C-flat
- D-flat diminished 7th (D♭°7): the diminished triad with a diminished seventh, D-flat, F-flat, A-double-flat, C-double-flat
A few of these notes have names that may look unusual: F-flat is played on E, A-double-flat is played on G, C-flat is played on B, and C-double-flat is played on B-flat. Each chord keeps its notes on every other letter name, which is what makes it read as a stack of thirds on the staff.
Each chord’s own page shows it in every inversion, with fingering, keyboard charts, notation, and audio.
D-flat chords and keys
All of these chords grow from the same root, D-flat. The chords that belong together in a key are a different family, built on each note of the scale; for those, see D-flat major piano chords and C-sharp minor piano chords (on the same keys, spelled from C-sharp).