D7 Chord

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BWright

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I usually play D7 as 3222 which is C, F#, D and A (1st, 3rd ,5th and flatted 7th).

How is it that an alternative D7 is 0202? The notes are A, F#, C and A. No root.

Am I seeing this correctly?

Thanks, Bill
 
0202 isn't right. Your alternative D7 chords are 2020 and 2023.
 
Hi Bill

Yes, you are doing fine, except the conventional notation spells positions from the string closest to your nose to the string closed to your toe, so you need to write these out as

2 2 2 3 and 2 0 2 0

I think that cofused RevWill.

To answer your questions, yes, both are "correct" D7 chords. They do sound different, and sometimes one works better than the other, either musically or technically. It's all in musical context.

Cheers
Chief
 
BWright said:
The notes are A, F#, C and A. No root.

Am I seeing this correctly?
Click to expand...

Yup, you're correct. Some people, including me, call that voicing a "Hawaiian D7". It's really a rootless D7 (which is the same thing as an F#dim, incidentally).

The funny thing is, you can actually get rid of the root of a chord in many cases and it will still work. The thing that really makes a dominant 7th chord sound distinctively "seventhy" is that tritone interval between the third and seventh of the chord (in this case, the F# and C). As long as the chord has that, it performs the majority of the function of a dom 7th chord, even if some of the other parts are missing.

You could, for example, get rid of the fifth instead--the A, in this case--and it would still "work". Try playing the D7 as X223 (just like a standard D7, but don't strum the 4th string... the string closest to your head) and you'll hear it for yourself.

JJ
 
2223 is a D7 and has the root note.
2020 is commonly referred to as the Hawaiian D7, it has no root note.
The "C" makes the 7th chord. It is the open C in 2020 and is the High C in 2223.
Both work, sometimes the full D7 with the root sounds better. I find the Hawaiian D7 sounds better in Hawaiin songs. (not surprising)

looks like Ukulele JJ, posted at the same time.
 
Ukulele Jim said:
The 'Hawaiian' D7 also sounds better when playing blues in the key of A or C or what have you. The 2223 D7 is a little too happy for blues.
Click to expand...

Yes, but sometimes when the D7 gets strummed for more than a bar or two, I will switch from 2020 to 2223 just prior to going to the next chord. Adds a little something different.
 
what you've read is all correct, the Hawaiian D7 is a viable alternative.
their suggestions on when to use it are also right, but i have a more simple tip:
use it when it sounds good.
i would NORMALLY play it barred, but whenever i'm teaching myself a song i try one run through with the D7 played Hawaiian fashion... if it sounds better that way, then play it that way.
as is the case with most things ukulele, do what you feel sounds the best, because it usually IS the best.
 
One other benefit to the Hawaiian D7 ( 2020) is if followed by a G7 chord (0212), makes for an easier transition.
 
Thank you for this thread, 'cuz it was something getting stuck in my head when I wasn't doing anything.
I was poking around the fretboard the other day, just tiddling, trying to figure out the clumsiest fingerings for each chord... more playing around than anything, but hoping it'll help me get more familiar with the note positions without learning by rote...
Anyway, I was playing with D7 at the end and, before I could look into it, got called away. I just assumed it was, in fact, my unfamiliarity with the fretboard, like I was missing where something was... I'm glad to know that I wasn't losing my mind and that the root was missing.

Dammit, people! You're making me learn stuff!
 
It comes from the guitar - six strings (and it would be A7) - in which case there is a root note.

There's also 5655. Play the variation that sounds best for the song.
 
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