Guitar chord · Open shape · Standard tuning
B dominant 7 guitar chord (B7)
4 fingers, 5 strings, chart notation x21202. Tap the chord chart to hear it strummed, then arpeggio it to check every note is ringing cleanly.
All the strings in one sweep, low to high — how the chord sounds in a song.
- Strings, low to high
- B · D♯ · A · B · F♯
- Chord tones
- B R · D♯ 3 · F♯ 5 · A b7
How to play B7
Finger numbers run 1 for the index to 4 for the little finger. String names are given as players say them — the low E is the thickest string (the 6th) and the high E is the thinnest (the 1st).
- 1st finger (index) — 1st fret, D string
- 2nd finger (middle) — 2nd fret, A string
- 3rd finger (ring) — 2nd fret, G string
- 4th finger (little) — 2nd fret, high E string
- Play open: B (2nd) — strum it without fretting anything.
- Leave out: low E (6th) — start the strum below it, or damp it with the side of the thumb.
| String | Fret | Finger | Note it sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th — low E | Not played | — | × |
| 5th — A | 2nd fret | 2 (middle) | B |
| 4th — D | 1st fret | 1 (index) | D♯ |
| 3rd — G | 2nd fret | 3 (ring) | A |
| 2nd — B | Open | — | B |
| 1st — high E | 2nd fret | 4 (little) | F♯ |
Notes and intervals in B7
B7 is built from 4 notes: B, D♯, F♯ and A.
- B — the root (R)
- D♯ — the major 3rd (3)
- F♯ — the perfect 5th (5)
- A — the flat 7th (b7)
Across the six strings the shape sounds B · D♯ · A · B · F♯ from low to high, so some notes are doubled in different octaves — that is what gives an open guitar chord its width compared with the same chord on a keyboard.
What B7 is used for
B7 is the V7 of E, which is why it appears constantly in blues and folk played in E — it is the chord that drags the ear back home. The open B string running through the middle of the shape gives it its jangle, and the four-finger layout is a new player's first real test of independent finger placement.
Common mistakes with B7
- Collapsing the ring and little fingers together. The 3rd finger takes the 2nd fret of the G string and the 4th takes the 2nd fret of the high E — two strings apart, and they have to land at the same moment.
- Choking the open B string. It sits in the middle of the shape between two fretted notes, so keep the ring finger arched over it.
- Playing the low E string. B7's root is on the 5th string; the 6th stays muted.
Guitar chord data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.