Guitar chords · Dominant 7th
B7 chord on guitar
B7 (B A major chord with a minor 7th added, such as G7. It is the V7 of a key and pulls strongly to the I chord.) has four notes: B, D♯, F♯ and A, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5 and ♭7.
Shapes
How to play B7
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
B7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and two A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 2 and the E shape at fret 7. A movable shape keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
Open
A shape · fret 2
E shape · fret 7
Notes and formula
What makes B7 dominant 7th
A A major chord with a minor 7th added, such as G7. It is the V7 of a key and pulls strongly to the I chord. chord is a major chord with a minor 7th added. Its 3rd and 7th are a The interval of six half steps, exactly half an octave, such as B to F. It is the tense heart of a dominant 7th chord. apart, and that tension pulls it to the chord a 5th below: the V7–I move that ends so many phrases. It is also the sound of the blues.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The 3rd and the ♭7th make B7 a A major chord with a minor 7th added, such as G7. It is the V7 of a key and pulls strongly to the I chord. chord; you can leave out the 5th.
- BRroot
- D♯3essential
- F♯5optional
- A♭7essential
- B, the root
- Other chord tones
B7 usually resolves to E or Em, the chord a 5th below: the V7–I move.
Keys
Keys with B7
B7 belongs to three keys: E major (V7), E minor (V7, The natural minor scale with its 7th raised a half step, which makes the V chord major and gives it a strong pull home.) and C♯ minor (VII7).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Progressions
Progressions with B7
Common progressions that use B7, each in a key that spells it B7. The outlined chord is B7.
Jazz ii–V–I in E major
ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
- F♯m7
- B7
- Emaj7
Each chord falls a fifth to the next — a walk anticlockwise around the circle.
Heard in Autumn Leaves, Fly Me to the Moon
12-bar blues in B major
I7 – I7 – I7 – I7 – IV7 – IV7 – I7 – I7 – V7 – IV7 – I7 – V7
- B7
- B7
- B7
- B7
- E7
- E7
- B7
- B7
- F♯7
- E7
- B7
- F♯7
Dominant 7th chords on I, IV and V across twelve bars. The foundation of blues and early rock 'n' roll.
Heard in Johnny B. Goode, Pride and Joy, Hound Dog
Minor ii–V–i in E minor
iiø7 – V7 – i7
- F♯m7♭5
- B7
- Em7
Half-diminished ii, dominant V7 and back to the minor tonic.
Heard in Blue Bossa, Autumn Leaves
Slash chords
B7 over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps B7 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- B7/D♯
B7 with its 3rd, D♯, in the bass: the first inversion.
- B7/F♯
B7 with its 5th, F♯, in the bass: the second inversion.
- B7/A
B7 with its ♭7th, A, in the bass: the third inversion.
Same root
Other chords on B
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- B major
- Bm minor
- Bmaj7 major 7th
- Bm7 minor 7th
- Bsus2 suspended 2nd
- Bsus4 suspended 4th
- B6 major 6th
- Bm6 minor 6th
- Badd9 add 9
- B9 dominant 9th
- Bmaj9 major 9th
- Bm9 minor 9th
- B13 dominant 13th
- Bmaj13 major 13th
- Bm11 minor 11th
- B° diminished
- Bm7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- B°7 diminished 7th
- B+ augmented
- B5 power chord
- B7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Bm(maj7) minor major 7th
- B6/9 six-nine
- Bm(add9) minor add 9
- B7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
B7, in short
- What notes are in the B7 chord?
- B7 (B A major chord with a minor 7th added, such as G7. It is the V7 of a key and pulls strongly to the I chord.) has four notes: B, D♯, F♯ and A, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5 and ♭7.
- How do you play B7 on guitar?
- B7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and two A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 2 and the E shape at fret 7.
- What key is B7 in?
- B7 belongs to three keys: E major (V7), E minor (V7, The natural minor scale with its 7th raised a half step, which makes the V chord major and gives it a strong pull home.) and C♯ minor (VII7).