B7 Chord - Learn to Play on Guitar & Piano Keyboard

This article on the B7 chord on Guitar and Piano covers its music theory elements in brief, the chord scales, layouts of the chord notes on the fretboard, and open, movable, and barre shapes. It also touches on the layout of the chord on the piano keyboard, along with its inversions and finger positions.

Read the complete article on the B7 Chord today!

Music Theory, Notes & Intervals Of The B7 Chord

A dominant 7th chord has three intervals of 3rds stacked on top of the root note. These intervals are a major third followed by two minor thirds. Hence the intervals of the notes from the root are R – M3 – P5 – m7. The chord formula in any major scale is [5 7 2 4], where 5, 7, 2, and 4 are the scale degrees of the notes. The root of the B7 chord is at the fifth degree of the scale.

The B7 dominant seventh chord naturally occurs in the E major scale and has the following four notes.

B – Root Note
D# – Major third,
F# – Perfect Fifth,
A – minor seventh

As you can see, note A at the minor seventh interval from B is stacked over the B Major Chord [B D# F#].

B7 Chord Scales

The F7 chord is found naturally in the scales listed below:

E Major Scale and its modes.
E Melodic Minor Scale and its modes.
F# Melodic Minor scale and its modes.
E Harmonic Minor scale and its modes.
E Harmonic Major scale and its modes.

Learn How To Play The B7 Chord

You can now look at the B7 chords on the fretboard and piano keyboard and the associated finger positions.

Map Chords Along All The Fretboard

The below diagram will give you an overview of how the notes of the B7 guitar chord are spread over the guitar fretboard. This will guide you to pick different ways of playing the B7 guitar chord.

B Dominant Seventh Chord – Guitar Chord Shapes And Fingerings

You will now see the various ways to play the B7 chord. This includes the open, movable, and barre chord shapes. The chord diagrams shown below also present the recommended finger arrangement for these chords.

To study these diagrams, note that the number in black circles denotes the frets to play these chords on different strings. The numbers in the red circles show the recommended finger positions.

Here

1 – Index or the First Finger,
2 – Middle or the Second Finger,
3 – Ring or the Third finger,
4 – Little or the Fourth Finger.

You should mute or skip the strings marked with an ‘X’ mark in the black circle, while strings marked ‘O’ are to be played open.

Open Position

The five recommended open-position shapes for playing the B7 chord are shown in the diagrams below.

O1 – Construction – (x – 2 – 1 – 2 – 0 – x). Notes – (1, 3, b7, and 1). It has an omitted 5th.
O2 – Construction – (x – 2 – 1 – 2 – 0 – 2). Notes – (1, 3, b7, 1, and 5).
O3 – Construction – (2 – x – 1 – 2 – 0 – 2). Notes – (5, 3, b7, 1, and 5).
O4 – Construction – (2 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 0 – 2). Notes – (5, b7, 3, b7, 1, and 5).
O5 – Construction – (x – 14 – 13 – 14 – 0 – 14). Notes – (1, 3, b7, 1, and 5). This is the same as the O2 shape, one octave higher.

Movable Positions

The eight movable options for the B dominant seventh chords are shown as under:

M1 – Construction – (2 – x – 1 – 2 – x – x). Notes – (5, 3, and b7). This is a rootless voicing.
M2 – Construction – (x – 2 – 1 – 2 – x – 2). Notes – (1, 3, b7, and 5).
M3 – Construction – (7 – x – 7 – 8 – x – x). Notes – (1, b7, and 3). Omitted 5th.
M4 – Construction – (7 – x – 7 – 8 – 7 – x). Notes – (1, b7, 3, and 5).
M5 – Construction – (x – x – 9 – 11 – 10 – 11). Notes – (1, 5, b7, and 3).
M6 – Construction – (11 – x – 9 – 11 – 10 – x). Notes – (3, 1, 5, and b7).
M7 – Construction – (x – 14 – 13 – 14 – 12 – x). Notes – (1, 3, b7, and 1). Omitted 5th.
M8 – Construction – (x – x – 13 – 14 – 12 – 14). Notes – (3, b7, 1, and 5).

Barre Chords

The nine-barre chord voicings are

B1 and B2 are two options with open positions on the A string. B1 uses the notes (b7, 5, 1, 3, b7), while B2 has (b7, b7, 3, 5, and 1). Both versions have A as the bass note.
B3 has notes (1, 3, and b7).
B4 – (1, 5, b7, 3, and 5).
B5 – (1, 5, 1, 3, and b7). This version may be difficult to finger and not used very often.
B6 – (5, 1, 3, and b7). This version is commonly used int he blues music.
B7 – (b7, 3, 5, and 1). This is the same as the B2 without the open A string.
B8 – (1, 5, b7, 3, 5, and 1). This is derived from the open E7 chord shape.
B9 – (1, 5, b7, 3, b7, and 1).