D#m7 Chord on Ukulele
D#m7 = D# – F# – A# – C# (Root, Minor 3rd, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th)
D sharp minor seventh spreads its four notes out in a rising staircase up the neck rather than clustering them together: the A string's first fret gives the fifth, the E string's second fret gives the flatted third, the C string's third fret gives the root, and the G string climbs all the way to the sixth fret for the flatted seventh. No two notes share a fret, and no barre shortcut connects any of them — every finger has its own separate job.
Softened from plain D# minor by its flatted seventh, this chord takes on a smokier, more contained color typical of minor seventh chords generally. Respelled as Ebm7, it functions as the ii chord in the key of Db major, setting up a ii-V-I cadence into Db by way of Ab7 — a progression genuinely encountered in jazz-adjacent ukulele charts built around flat keys. It can also stand as the i7 chord of its own D# minor key context, a rare but real home base for more harmonically adventurous repertoire.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
Because the frets rise from the A string's first fret all the way to the G string's sixth, build the shape from the lowest, most stable fret upward rather than starting at the widest reach — anchor the A and E strings first, then add the C and finally the G string's stretch. Given how uncommon this particular chord is, practicing its ii-V-I resolution (respelled Ebm7-Ab7-Db) slowly and deliberately is more useful than trying to memorize the raw shape in isolation.
Common Progressions
- Respelled ii7 - V7 - I (Ebm7 - Ab7 - Db)
- i7 - iv7 - V7 (D#m7 - G#m7 - A#7, in D# minor)
- A D#m7-to-G#7 two-chord loop works as a compact jazz practice vamp.
- A static D#m7 vamp suits a moody, sustained melodic line.
FAQ
- Why do D#m7's four notes rise in a staircase?
- Each string's individual pitch happens to require a progressively higher fret than the last, from the A string's first fret up to the G string's sixth, with no shared fret connecting any of them.
- What's D#m7's role as Ebm7 in the key of Db?
- It's the ii chord, setting up a ii-V-I cadence into Db by way of Ab7 — a genuinely encountered progression in jazz-adjacent ukulele material built around flat keys.
- Can D#m7 stand as its own tonic?
- Yes, as the i7 chord of D# minor, though this is a rarer context than its role as Db major's ii chord.
- Is D#m7 harder to play than C#m7?
- Yes, noticeably — C#m7 gets its third for free from an open string and needs only two fretted notes, while D#m7 needs all four strings fretted at four different frets with no open-string help.
- What's a practical way to approach the wide stretch?
- Anchor the lower two strings first, then add the C string, and treat the G string's sixth-fret reach as the final, separate addition.
- Does D#m7 share notes with D#7?
- No — D#7 is a dominant seventh built from D# major's own third, while D#m7 flattens that third, so the two chords, despite similar names, differ in a genuinely audible way beyond just the added seventh.
- Would it be easier to substitute a nearby open-string-friendly minor seventh instead?
- In casual playing, some players do swap in Cm7 or Dm7 when D#m7 comes up unexpectedly, accepting a slightly different color in exchange for a shape that doesn't need the full four-fret climb.
- Is D#m7's staircase shape unusual compared to other minor sevenths on this instrument?
- Yes — most common minor seventh chords elsewhere in this key family get at least a partial barre or an open string to simplify things, while D#m7 genuinely needs four separate, individually-placed fingers.
- What's the widest single gap between two adjacent fretted notes in this shape?
- The jump from the C string's third fret to the G string's sixth fret is the largest, a three-fret climb on the outer string that most players find the trickiest part of the whole voicing.
D#m7 on other instruments: D#m7 on Guitar, D#m7 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.