Dominant 7th chord · B root
B7 chord
- B1
- D#3
- F#5
- A♭7
The B dominant 7th chord is built from the notes B, D#, F#, A. It turns up 10 times in the 80 songs on this site, including (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay and Folsom Prison Blues.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the B7 chord?
The B7 chord (B dominant 7th) is a dominant 7th chord built from four notes: B, D#, F#, A — the 1–3–5–♭7 of the B scale, 4 semitones and 7 semitones and 10 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played in open position (x-2-1-2-0-2) with 4 fingers while 1 string rings 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, B7 appears 10 times in 5 songs, most often in the keys of E and F, and the chord it most often moves to is E. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 4 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the B7 chord on guitar?
Open position — the easiest version of B7 on the guitar.
- Press the A string at fret 2 with your ring finger.
- Press the D string at fret 1 with your index finger.
- Press the G string at fret 2 with your middle finger.
- Press the high E string at fret 2 with your pinky 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-2-1-2-0-2
How do you make B7 sound clean?
B7 has no barre, which makes players grip the neck from the wrist instead of relaxing.
B7 → E → B7: the V7–I of E. Let the high E ring through both chords.
In real songs
What songs use the B7 chord?
- chord changes
- 10
- songs
- 5
- common keys
- E · F
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, B7 appears 10 times in 5 songs — most often in the keys of E and F.
GB7CA7
B7B7AA7
B7B7EE
All 5 songs that use B7— key, capo and a link to every sheet
| Song | Artist | Key | Capo |
|---|---|---|---|
| (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay | Otis Redding | G | — |
| Folsom Prison Blues | Johnny Cash | E | — |
| I Walk the Line | Johnny Cash | F | 1 |
| Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) | The Beatles | E | — |
| Nothing Else Matters | Metallica | Em | — |
Chord flow
What chord comes after B7?
The counts come from our own song library — 1560 chord changes in total — which makes them a snapshot of real songs instead of a rule of thumb.
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 B7 up the neck?
3 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 2 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 barre
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
One bar does most of the work. Roll that finger onto its bony edge and pull the elbow slightly in — a barre that buzzes is almost always a position problem, not a strength problem.
Position 4 · Fret 9
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
Up at fret 9 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 B7 chord
Video: JustinGuitar on YouTube — embedded with the official player; credit and views belong to the creator.
The theory behind B7
B7 is spelled B – D# – F# – A — the 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 of the B 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 B7. Mute that note by accident and the chord turns into a plain major triad.
What key is the B7 chord in?
B7 is the V7 in the key of E — in both E major and E minor — which is exactly why it resolves to E.
the dominant — the flat seventh is what pulls it home
the same dominant job in the minor key
B7 on other instruments
B – D# – F# – A — 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
