Position 1 / 4

This chord has 4 voicings across the fretboard. Use the arrows to see each shape and fingering — and tap any dot on the diagram to hear that note.

Beginner

B7 Guitar Chord

An open-position dominant seventh with a twangy character. B7 naturally resolves to E Major and is vital for blues in E.

Also known as

  • B 7
  • Bdom7
  • B dom7
  • B dominant 7th
  • B dominant seventh

How to Play This Chord

Position your fingers on the fretboard as shown in the diagram. The vertical lines represent the strings, from low E (left) to high E (right), and the horizontal lines are the frets. Numbers inside the dots indicate which finger to use: 1 (index), 2 (middle), 3 (ring), 4 (pinky). An X means don't play that string; an O means play it open. A bar spanning multiple strings means one finger presses across all of them at once — this is known as a barre chord.

Tips & Tricks

Open B7 has a practical four-finger voicing that doesn't require a barre: place fingers on the A string (2nd fret), D string (1st fret), G string (2nd fret), and high E string (2nd fret), leaving the B string open. It's one of the most important chords in blues guitar.

There are many ways to play this chord. Try these:

eBGDAE 2 1 2 0 2 2 1 2
eBGDAE 2 0 2 1 2 2 0 2
eBGDAE 2 2 1 0 2 2 2 1
eBGDAE 2 2 0 2 1 2 0 2

See how B7 works with other chords — Progression Generator