Sevenths
E dominant 7th chord
Bluesy tension that pulls strongly toward the chord a 5th below.
E7 is the V7 chord in A major. In minor keys: V7 in A minor.
- Notes
- EG♯BD
- Formula
- 135♭7
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th
How to play E7
About the E dominant 7th chord
E7 is the V7 of A major and the home chord of a blues in E — probably the most-played dominant 7th in guitar blues.
Playing it
On guitar, E7 is one of the friendlier shapes: 020100 needs just two fingers and lets the open strings ring.
On piano, E7 has one black key (G♯) and three white keys.
On ukulele the usual E7 shape is 1202, using three fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form G♯dim (G♯ B D) — so you can think of E7 as G♯dim with E added underneath.
Move a single note and E7 becomes a different chord: drop the D for E, raise D to D♯ for Emaj7, lower G♯ to G for Em7 and lower D to C♯ for E6.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find E7 in common progressions such as E7–A7–B7 (the 12-bar blues in E major) and Bm7–E7–Amaj7 (the jazz cadence in A major).
