Piano chord · Dominant 7th
B dominant 7th piano chord (B7)
B dominant 7th is B – D♯ – F♯ – A. Right hand fingers 1-2-3-5.
B – D♯ – F♯ – A
Built from the root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th. Keys show right-hand fingers: 1 = thumb.
Next moves
B, D♯, F♯ and A, played together. Root position is lit on the keyboard above — press Play chord to hear it, or switch to an inversion.
Notes in B7: B, D♯, F♯ and A
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| B | Root | B4 · white key |
| D♯ | Major 3rd | D♯5 · black key |
| F♯ | Perfect 5th | F♯5 · black key |
| A | Minor 7th | A5 · white key |
- Chord symbol: B7 — B dominant 7th
- Formula: root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th (0 · 4 · 7 · 10 half steps (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 B7 works
B7 is the dominant of both E major and E minor, which makes it a staple of classical minor keys and of blues in E alike. Two black keys sit inside the shape, so the hand tilts forward while the thumb and little finger stay on the white outer notes.
B7 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
B–D♯–F♯–A — the root, B, is at the bottom.
Right hand1-2-3-5Left hand5-3-2-1
1st inversion — D♯ in the bass
D♯–F♯–A–B — the same four notes, reordered so D♯ is lowest.
Right hand1-2-3-5Left hand5-3-2-1
2nd inversion — F♯ in the bass
F♯–A–B–D♯ — the same four notes, reordered so F♯ is lowest.
Right hand1-2-3-5Left hand5-3-2-1
3rd inversion — A in the bass
A–B–D♯–F♯ — the same four notes, reordered so A is lowest.
Right hand1-2-3-5Left hand5-3-2-1
| Position | Notes, lowest first | Right hand | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | B – D♯ – F♯ – A | 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 | 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 |
| 1st inversion | D♯ – F♯ – A – B | 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 | 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 |
| 2nd inversion | F♯ – A – B – D♯ | 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 | 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 |
| 3rd inversion | A – B – D♯ – F♯ | 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 | 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 |
1 = thumb, 5 = little finger. Notes listed from the lowest key up.
Common mistakes on B7
- Playing D natural instead of D♯, which gives Bm7.
- Playing A♯ on top out of habit from the B major scale; the seventh of B7 is A natural.
- Squeezing the hand to secure the two black keys, which drags the outer fingers off theirs.
B dominant 7th FAQ
What notes are in B dominant 7th?
B, D♯, F♯ and A: the root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th.
What fingers do I use for B dominant 7th?
In root position, right hand 1-2-3-5 and left hand 5-3-2-1 (1 = thumb, 5 = little finger). 1st inversion: right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1; 2nd inversion: right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1; 3rd inversion: right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1.
What are the inversions of B dominant 7th?
1st inversion: D♯–F♯–A–B. 2nd inversion: F♯–A–B–D♯. 3rd inversion: A–B–D♯–F♯. Same notes, a different one at the bottom.
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.