Dominant 7th chord · A root
A7 chord
- A1
- C#3
- E5
- G♭7
The A dominant 7th chord is built from the notes A, C#, E, G. It turns up 47 times in the 80 songs on this site, including (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay and All of Me.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the A7 chord?
The A7 chord (A dominant 7th) is a dominant 7th chord built from four notes: A, C#, E, G — the 1–3–5–♭7 of the A scale, 4 semitones and 7 semitones and 10 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played in open position (x-0-2-0-2-0) with 2 fingers while 3 strings ring open and the low E string stays silent. It is rated beginner — most players learn it in their first weeks. A tense, bluesy chord that wants to resolve down a fifth. It is one of the most-used chords in this site's library: across the 80 song sheets charted here, A7 appears 47 times in 14 songs, most often in the keys of C and E, and the chord it most often moves to is Dm7. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 3 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the A7 chord on guitar?
Open position — the easiest version of A7 on the guitar.
- Press the D string at fret 2 with your middle finger.
- Press the B string at fret 2 with your ring finger.
- Start your strum on the A string and do not play the low E string at all.
The x mark is part of the shape, not an accident: the chord only sounds right when low E stays silent. Instead of aiming your pick around that string, let the string next to it rest on it and damp it. x-0-2-0-2-0
How do you make A7 sound clean?
Lifting the middle finger off A leaves a gap in the strum if you hesitate. Practise it as "remove finger two", not "make a new chord".
D → A7 → D, the I–V7–I of D. The A7 is your launch pad home.
In real songs
What songs use the A7 chord?
- chord changes
- 47
- songs
- 14
- common keys
- C · E
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, A7 appears 47 times in 14 songs — most often in the keys of C and E.
GB7CA7
GA7GE7
A7A7Dm7Dm7
All 14 songs that use A7— key, capo and a link to every sheet
| Song | Artist | Key | Capo |
|---|---|---|---|
| (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay | Otis Redding | G | — |
| All of Me | Jazz Standard | C | — |
| Black Orpheus | Luiz Bonfa | Dm | — |
| Blackbird | The Beatles | G | — |
| Blue Bossa | Kenny Dorham | Dm | — |
| Bye Bye Blackbird | Jazz Standard | F | — |
| Fly Me to the Moon | Bart Howard | C | — |
| Folsom Prison Blues | Johnny Cash | E | — |
| Georgia on My Mind | Ray Charles | C | — |
| Here Comes the Sun | The Beatles | A | 7 |
| I Walk the Line | Johnny Cash | F | 1 |
| Lyin' Eyes | Eagles | G | — |
| Margaritaville | Jimmy Buffett | D | — |
| Peaceful Easy Feeling | Eagles | E | 2 |
Chord flow
What chord comes after A7?
Those figures are counted from the 80 chord sheets on this site, so they describe what songwriters actually played rather than what theory says should come next.
Three-chord moves
Three-chord moves are where a chord really shows its character. These are the ones that actually happen in this library, counted from the sheets:
What other ways can you play A7 up the neck?
2 more positions below. Learn one of these well and the rest become optional. The value of a second position is practical: it keeps your fretting hand near where the song is already heading.
Position 2 · Fret 5 barre
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
The barre is the only hard part of this shape. Keep the bar finger straight and use the weight of your arm rather than the grip of your thumb.
Position 3 · Fret 7
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
Up at fret 7 the frets are close together, so use a lighter touch than you would in the open position — squeezing here pulls the notes sharp.
Watch the A7 chord
Video: JustinGuitar on YouTube — embedded with the official player; credit and views belong to the creator.
The theory behind A7
A7 is spelled A – C# – E – G — the 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 of the A scale, which is the root plus 4 semitones, 7 semitones, 10 semitones. A tense, bluesy chord that wants to resolve down a fifth.
The flat seventh is a whole tone below the octave, and it is the note that creates the pull toward the chord a fifth below A7. Mute that note by accident and the chord turns into a plain major triad.
What key is the A7 chord in?
A7 is the V7 in the key of D — in both D major and D minor — which is exactly why it resolves to D.
the dominant — the flat seventh is what pulls it home
the same dominant job in the minor key
A7 on other instruments
0 1 0 0
The same chord on four strings in standard tuning. Because the uke is tuned higher, this shape sits at a different place on the neck than its guitar equivalent — useful when arranging for both instruments.
A – C# – E – G — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
