B7 Chord on Guitar
Notes B D♯ F♯ A. Start with open B7 (x 2 1 2 0 2): four fingers and no barre, easier than B major.
Chord · B7 dominant 7th
Open B7 · x 2 1 2 0 2
open strings
A7-shape barre (fret 2) · x 2 4 2 4 2
barre, movable
E7-shape barre (fret 7) · 7 9 7 8 7 7
barre, movable
D7-shape, 4 strings (fret 9) · x x 9 11 10 11
movable, no open strings
1 B3 D♯5 F♯♭7 A
- String 6 (low E): muted, do not play
- String 5 (A): middle (2), fret 2
- String 4 (D): index (1), fret 1
- String 3 (G): ring (3), fret 2
- String 2 (B): open
- String 1 (high e): pinky (4), fret 2
- Barre: index finger flat across strings 5 to 1 at fret 2
- String 6 (low E): muted, do not play
- String 5 (A): index (1), fret 2
- String 4 (D): ring (3), fret 4
- String 3 (G): index (1), fret 2
- String 2 (B): pinky (4), fret 4
- String 1 (high e): index (1), fret 2
- Barre: index finger flat across strings 6 to 1 at fret 7
- String 6 (low E): index (1), fret 7
- String 5 (A): ring (3), fret 9
- String 4 (D): index (1), fret 7
- String 3 (G): middle (2), fret 8
- String 2 (B): index (1), fret 7
- String 1 (high e): index (1), fret 7
- String 6 (low E): muted, do not play
- String 5 (A): muted, do not play
- String 4 (D): index (1), fret 9
- String 3 (G): ring (3), fret 11
- String 2 (B): middle (2), fret 10
- String 1 (high e): pinky (4), fret 11
Notes and formula
| Degree | Note | Interval from B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | root |
| 3 | D♯ | major 3rd |
| 5 | F♯ | perfect 5th |
| ♭7 | A | minor 7th |
Formula 1 3 5 ♭7 (dominant 7th).
Also written B 7th, B dominant 7th.
More on this chord type: Dominant 7th chords · 7th chords explained
Capo shapes that sound as B7
Open shapes you may already know, moved up with a capo.
A7 shape + capo 2
G7 shape + capo 4
E7 shape + capo 7
Need the capo fret for a whole song? Capo calculator: any song key, any shapes. New to the capo? How to use a capo.
Where B7 leads
As a dominant 7th, B7 is the V7 of E major and pulls to E: B7 → E.
| 12-bar blues in | B7 is the | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| B | I7 | |
| F♯ | IV7 | |
| E | V7 |
Keys that contain B7
| Key | B7 is the |
|---|---|
| E major | V7 |
| C♯ minor | VII7 |
Minor keys here use the natural minor scale.
Playing B7: what goes wrong
B7 leads to E
B7 is the V7 chord of E major: its D♯ and A pull to E and G♯. Songs in E minor use B7 the same way (the major V borrowed from the harmonic minor scale), so Em, B7, Em is a very common change.
Let the open B ring
String 2 is open in this shape. The ring finger on string 3 fret 2 and the pinky on string 1 fret 2 both lean toward it: arch them so the open B sounds.
Related chords
Learn and practise B7
- Metronomepractise the change to B7 at 60 BPM
- How to read chord chartsstrings, frets, fingers, x and o
- Chord finder (chord namer)name any other shape you find
FAQ
What notes are in B7?
B, D♯, F♯, A: the 1, 3, 5, ♭7 of the B7 dominant 7th chord.
Is B7 easier than B?
Yes. Open B7 needs no barre, while B major does. They are not the same chord: B7 adds A, the 7th, which makes it want to resolve to E.