Dominant 7th chord · C root
C7 chord
- C1
- E3
- G5
- Bb♭7
The C dominant 7th chord is built from the notes C, E, G, Bb. It turns up 9 times in the 80 songs on this site, including Happy Birthday and Hey Jude.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the C7 chord?
The C7 chord (C dominant 7th) is a dominant 7th chord built from four notes: C, E, G, Bb — the 1–3–5–♭7 of the C scale, 4 semitones and 7 semitones and 10 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played in open position (x-3-2-3-1-0) 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, C7 appears 9 times in 5 songs, most often in the keys of C and F, and the chord it most often moves to is F. 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 C7 chord on guitar?
Open position — the easiest version of C7 on the guitar.
- Press the A string at fret 3 with your ring finger.
- Press the D string at fret 2 with your middle finger.
- Press the G string at fret 3 with your pinky finger.
- Press the B string at fret 1 with your index 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-3-2-3-1-0
How do you make C7 sound clean?
The added pinky on the G string drags the ring finger flat onto the high E. Same wrist position as C, with the pinky reaching rather than the hand rolling.
C → C7 → F is the I–I7–IV blues move. The C7 is the pivot — make the pinky land first.
In real songs
What songs use the C7 chord?
- chord changes
- 9
- songs
- 5
- common keys
- C · F
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, C7 appears 9 times in 5 songs — most often in the keys of C and F.
All 5 songs that use C7— key, capo and a link to every sheet
| Song | Artist | Key | Capo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Birthday | Traditional | G | — |
| Hey Jude | The Beatles | F | — |
| Jackson | Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash | Db | 1 |
| Something | The Beatles | C | — |
| You Are My Sunshine | Traditional | C | — |
Chord flow
What chord comes after C7?
Every number here is a count from the progressions in our song sheets, not a generalisation: 1560 chord changes are behind these figures.
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 C7 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 3 barre
Because nothing rings open, you can move this whole shape to any fret and it keeps the same quality — only the letter name changes.
A single bar covers the rest of the strings here. If the inside strings stay dead, move the bar a millimetre closer to the fret wire before you try pressing harder.
Position 3 · Fret 8 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 4 · Fret 10
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
Up at fret 10 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 C7 chord
Video: JustinGuitar on YouTube — embedded with the official player; credit and views belong to the creator.
The theory behind C7
C7 is spelled C – E – G – Bb — the 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 of the C 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 C7. Mute that note by accident and the chord turns into a plain major triad.
What key is the C7 chord in?
C7 is the V7 in the key of F — in both F major and F minor — which is exactly why it resolves to F.
the dominant — the flat seventh is what pulls it home
the same dominant job in the minor key
C7 on other instruments
0 0 0 1
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.
C – E – G – Bb — 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
