# D♭ Major piano chord (D♭)

D♭ contains D♭, F and A♭. A major third with a perfect fifth above the root. D♭ and A♭ are black keys; F is white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/major/d-flat/
- Entity: chord:major:d-flat
- Notes: D♭ F A♭
- Formula: 1 3 5
- Intervals from root: P1, M3, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 4 3
- Also written: D♭, Db, D♭ major
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | D♭ | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 3 | F | Major third | 4 |
| 5 | A♭ | Perfect fifth | 7 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on D♭, finger 3 on F, finger 5 on A♭. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | D♭ | D♭3 F3 A♭3 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (D♭/F) | F | F3 A♭3 D♭4 | 6/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Second inversion (D♭/A♭) | A♭ | A♭3 D♭4 F4 | 6/4 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | D♭3 F3 A♭3 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | F3 A♭3 D♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | A♭3 D♭4 F4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | D♭2 A♭2 F3 | 16 st, 220 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | D♭3 F3 | 4 st, 55 mm | subset | omits A♭ |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D♭ major | I | Tonic, home |
| E♭ minor | ♭VII | Subtonic |
| F minor | ♭VI | Pre-dominant color |
| G♭ major | V | Dominant, wants to resolve |
| A♭ major | IV | Subdominant, away from home |
| B♭ minor | ♭III | Relative-major color |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ii, V, I | D♭ major | I | E♭m to A♭ to D♭ | 1 tone held from A♭ |
| IV, I | D♭ major | I | G♭ to D♭ | 1 tone held from G♭ |
| I, vi, ii, V | D♭ major | I | D♭ to B♭m to E♭m to A♭ | D♭ opens the phrase |
| ♭VII, i | E♭ minor | ♭VII | D♭ to E♭m | D♭ opens the phrase |
| ♭VI, iv, i, v | F minor | ♭VI | D♭ to B♭m to Fm to Cm | D♭ opens the phrase |
| i, ♭VI | F minor | ♭VI | Fm to D♭ | 2 tones held from Fm |
| V, I | G♭ major | V | D♭ to G♭ | D♭ opens the phrase |
| ii, V, I | G♭ major | V | A♭m to D♭ to G♭ | 1 tone held from A♭m |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| D♭maj7 | 1 3 5 7 | adds C | 3 |
| D♭7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | adds C♭ | 3 |
| D♭6 | 1 3 5 6 | adds B♭ | 3 |
| D♭add9 | 1 3 5 9 | adds E♭ | 3 |
| D♭m | 1 ♭3 5 | F becomes F♭ | 2 |
| D♭aug | 1 3 ♯5 | A♭ becomes A | 2 |
| D♭sus2 | 1 2 5 | F becomes E♭ | 2 |
| D♭sus4 | 1 4 5 | F becomes G♭ | 2 |
| D♭m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | F becomes F♭, C♭ | 2 |
| D♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | F becomes F♭, C | 2 |
| D♭aug7 | 1 3 ♯5 ♭7 | A♭ becomes A, C♭ | 2 |
| D♭7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | F becomes G♭, C♭ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {1, 5, 8}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 4, 7]
- Normal order: [1, 5, 8]
- Prime form: (037)
- Forte number: 3-11
- Interval vector: <001110>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D♭3 | 49 | 138.59 Hz |
| F3 | 53 | 174.61 Hz |
| A♭3 | 56 | 207.65 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in D♭?

D♭ contains D♭, F and A♭. The formula is 1, 3, 5.

### How do you play D♭ on piano?

Play D♭, F and A♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. D♭ and A♭ are black keys; F is white.

### What are the inversions of D♭?

3 positions: root position D♭ F A♭, D♭/F, D♭/A♭.

### What keys contain D♭?

6: I in D♭ major, ♭VII in E♭ minor, ♭VI in F minor, V in G♭ major, IV in A♭ major, ♭III in B♭ minor.

### What is the difference between D♭ and D♭maj7?

Adds C. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy D♭ for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, D♭3 F3, spans 4 semitones or about 55 mm.

### What are the frequencies of D♭?

From D♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 138.59, 174.61, 207.65 Hz.

### What is the set class of D♭?

Prime form (037), Forte 3-11, interval vector &lt;001110&gt;.

### How do I transpose D♭ to another key?

Keep the 1, 3, 5 formula on the new root. C is C, E, G; C♯ is C♯, E♯, G♯.

### Is C♯ the same as D♭?

Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:major:d-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12