Sevenths
B dominant 7th chord
Bluesy tension that pulls strongly toward the chord a 5th below.
B7 is the V7 chord in E major. In minor keys: V7 in E minor.
- Notes
- BD♯F♯A
- Formula
- 135♭7
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th
How to play B7
About the B dominant 7th chord
B7 is the V7 of E major, so it’s everywhere in guitar songs and blues in E. It’s also one of the few 7th chords with a well-known open shape.
Playing it
On guitar, B7 has an open-position shape, x21202, using four fingers alongside the open strings. Don’t strum the low E string.
On piano, B7 has two black keys (D♯ and F♯) and two white keys.
On ukulele the usual B7 shape is 4320, using three fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form D♯dim (D♯ F♯ A) — so you can think of B7 as D♯dim with B added underneath.
Move a single note and B7 becomes a different chord: drop the A for B, raise A to A♯ for Bmaj7, lower D♯ to D for Bm7 and lower A to G♯ for B6.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find B7 in common progressions such as B7–E7–F♯7 (the 12-bar blues in B major) and F♯m7–B7–Emaj7 (the jazz cadence in E major).
