B⁷

About the B7 chord

The B7 chord (dominant 7) is made up of 4 notes — B is the root, D♯ the major third, F♯ the perfect fifth and A the minor seventh. It is a major triad with a minor seventh added on top, and that extra note creates the restless, bluesy pull.

On guitar, B7 chords are usually played as a barre — x24242, with your first finger laid flat across the 2nd fret. Leave the low E string out and strum the rest. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings in all.

Dominant seventh chords add bluesy tension that pulls toward resolution, central to blues, jazz and funk.

Open B7 in the interactive finder →

Common questions

What notes are in the B7 chord?

The B7 chord contains the notes B, D♯, F♯ and A.

How do you play B7 on guitar?

A common shape is x24242. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings you can strum or hear.

What intervals make up the B7 chord?

The B7 chord is built from the root (B), a major third (D♯), a perfect fifth (F♯) and a minor seventh (A).

More than a chord chart

The chart above is just the start. Open B7 in the finder to hear it on guitar and piano and browse every playable voicing side by side. Or switch to Name my chord — tap frets or keys and MobileChords identifies the chord you're playing, inversions and slash chords included.