Piano chord · Dominant 7th
E dominant 7th piano chord (E7)
E, G♯, B and D, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in E7: E, G♯, B and D
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| E | Root | E4 · white key |
| G♯ | Major 3rd | G♯4 · black key |
| B | Perfect 5th | B4 · white key |
| D | Minor 7th | D5 · white key |
- Chord symbol: E7 — E 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 E7 works
E7 leads to A, and because the guitar lives in the key of E it is one of the most heard chords in popular music. On the keyboard the black G♯ sits between three white keys, so the hand hardly has to move from E minor to find it.
E7 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
E–G♯–B–D — the root, E, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — G♯ in the bass
G♯–B–D–E — the same four notes, reordered so G♯ is lowest.
2nd inversion — B in the bass
B–D–E–G♯ — the same four notes, reordered so B is lowest.
3rd inversion — D in the bass
D–E–G♯–B — the same four notes, reordered so D is lowest.
Common mistakes on E7
- Playing G natural, which turns the chord into Em7.
- Playing D♯ instead of D. The key of E has a D♯, but the seventh of E7 is D natural.
- Locking the wrist to hold four keys down; let the arm stay soft and the keys carry the weight.
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.