Piano chord · Dominant 7th
A dominant 7th piano chord (A7)
A, C♯, E and G, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in A7: A, C♯, E and G
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| A | Root | A4 · white key |
| C♯ | Major 3rd | C♯5 · black key |
| E | Perfect 5th | E5 · white key |
| G | Minor 7th | G5 · white key |
- Chord symbol: A7 — A dominant 7th
- Formula: R · 3 · 5 · b7 (0 · 4 · 7 · 10 semitones from the root)
- Right hand fingering: 1-2-3-5 — thumb, index, middle and little finger
- Left hand fingering: 5-3-2-1, little finger on the root
How A7 works
A7 is the dominant of D, and in the blues it doubles as the home chord of a blues in A. The seventh, G, is the white key immediately below the root, which is why the whole shape sits so compactly under the hand.
A7 inversions
An inversion keeps the same notes and changes which one is at the bottom. That matters because it lets you move between chords without jumping: the closer the notes of the next chord are to the ones your hand is already holding, the smoother it sounds and the easier it is to play. Root position first, then three inversions.
Root position
A–C♯–E–G — the root, A, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — C♯ in the bass
C♯–E–G–A — the same four notes, reordered so C♯ is lowest.
2nd inversion — E in the bass
E–G–A–C♯ — the same four notes, reordered so E is lowest.
3rd inversion — G in the bass
G–A–C♯–E — the same four notes, reordered so G is lowest.
Common mistakes on A7
- Playing G♯ instead of G, which makes Amaj7.
- Playing C natural, which produces Am7 rather than A7.
- Letting finger 5 collapse on G so the seventh — the note that defines the chord — is the quietest.
Piano 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.