Need to learn how to play the B7 chord on guitar? Check out the chord chart and photo below to see how to play this dominant seventh chord with ease!
How to play the B7 guitar chord: Chart, Photo, and Description
To play the B7 chord, place your left hand fingers on the following strings and frets:
- Index (Finger 1): Fret 1, String 4 (D#)
- Middle (Finger 2): Fret 2, String 5 (B)
- Ring (Finger 3): Fret 2, String 3 (A)
- Pinky (Finger 4): Fret 2, String 1 (F#)
- You can also play String 2 (open B)
- Avoid playing the String 6 (low E), which has an “X” in the box diagram above. You want to play String 5 as the bass note since that’s the root of the chord (B)!
As guitarists, we love playing in key of E major. It’s a bright and fun key, and seems relatively easy. That is, until this crazy B7 chord shape comes along!
This is one of the most complex beginner chords to learn, not because it’s physically very difficult, but because it’s jammed up and hard to tell which strings your fingers are on.
To help make it less daunting, I recommend you practice transitioning between E major and B7 –and leave off finger 4 at the beginning. If you start on E major, notice that you can anchor your middle finger (finger 2) on String 5, then you just have to swap strings with fingers 1 and 3!
Put another way, here’s the step by step for how to practice the E major to B7 transition:
- Leave finger 2 anchored down on String 5
- Drop finger 3 down from String 4 to String 3 (A)
- Raise finger 1 to String 3 to String 4 (D#)
- Leave off finger 4 until Steps 1-3 are seamless and you can do them in one movement.
Note: if you play String 1 without finger 4 down (open E string) it won’t sound great because it’s not part of the chord. But that’s ok! First it’s important to get the other fingers coordinated, then you can add pinky to the chord for the full sound.
What are the notes in a B7 chord?
The notes of the B7 chord are:
- B (Root)
- D# (Third)
- F# (Fifth)
- A (Seventh)
