B7 Chord on Guitar
B7 = B – D# – F# – A (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th)
B7 is a pleasant surprise for guitarists who've just learned that plain B major has no open-chord form at all: X-2-1-2-0-2, with the middle finger on the A string's second fret, the index finger on the D string's first fret, the ring finger on the G string's second fret, and the pinky reaching to the high e string's second fret, while the B string itself rings open. Four fingers, four different frets, but genuinely playable in open position — no barre required, unlike every other B-rooted chord in this survey.
The added flat seventh (A natural) gives B7 its dominant pull, and as the V7 of E major it drives directly into one of the guitar's most foundational cadences, B7 resolving to E, extremely common across folk, blues and rock repertoire built around that guitar-friendly key. It's also the V7 chord in A major, adding bluesy color to progressions in that key, and it turns up as the I7 of a blues progression in B on the rare occasions that key is used. Because it's the one B-rooted chord that avoids a barre entirely, B7 is often the first genuinely open B-family chord a guitarist plays, and its four-finger, four-fret shape (similar in spirit to C7's 'spider' fingering) is good practice for finger independence even outside its specific harmonic function. Its bright, open-string-inclusive voicing also gives it a lighter, more cutting character than the fuller, lower dominant sevenths like E7 or A7. Because so much folk and rock repertoire lives in the key of E, B7 turns up in beginner songbooks remarkably early despite its four-finger demand, simply because there's no way around needing a V7 chord once a song settles into that key.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
Build the shape one finger at a time, since four fingers on four different frets is a genuine coordination challenge even without a barre — start with the middle finger's A-string note, add the index finger's D-string note, then the ring finger's G-string note, and finish with the pinky's stretch to the high e string. The pinky reach is usually the weak point; isolate it by holding the other three fingers steady and practicing just that one finger's placement and release repeatedly until it's reliable. Drill the B7-to-E resolution specifically, since it's one of the most common cadences in guitar-friendly repertoire, and also practice B7 in the context of A major, where it functions as a bluesy dominant substitute. Because this shape avoids a barre entirely, use it as proof that not every 'hard' B-rooted chord requires barre technique — sometimes the challenge is pure finger independence instead. Once the four-finger shape is solid, compare it directly against C7's spider fingering, since both chords demand a similar kind of coordination and practicing them back to back reinforces the underlying skill each one is really testing.
Common Progressions
- V7–I in E major: B7 – E
- V7 borrowed into A major: B7 – E – A
- I7–IV7–V7 twelve-bar blues in B: B7 – E7 – F#7
FAQ
- Why does B7 have an open-chord form when plain B major doesn't?
- B7's four notes (B, D#, F#, A) happen to line up with the guitar's open B string plus four comfortably fretted notes nearby, while plain B major's three notes don't align with any open-string combination at all — a coincidence of which notes fall where on the neck, not a general rule about sevenths being easier than triads.
- Is B7 hard to play even though it needs no barre?
- It's moderately challenging — four fingers on four separate frets demands real finger independence, similar to C7's 'spider' shape, even though it avoids the barre difficulty that makes plain B major and most other B-rooted chords hard.
- Where is B7 most commonly used?
- As the V7 chord resolving to E major, one of the guitar's most fundamental cadences, and as a bluesy secondary dominant within songs centered on the closely related key of A major.
- Can B7 be played with a partial barre instead of four separate fingers?
- Some players do simplify the shape slightly by barring the index finger across the D and B strings' shared fret area, though the standard four-separate-finger version shown here is the more commonly taught fingering.
- Why does B7 sound brighter than E7 or A7?
- It voices its open string higher up in the chord (the open B string rather than a low root), and it uses no low, heavy strings at all, giving it a lighter, more treble-forward color than the fuller, lower-rooted dominant sevenths elsewhere in this family.
- Is B7 worth learning even before its resolution chord E major feels comfortable?
- Yes — because the two are so frequently paired, practicing them together actually reinforces both, and B7's genuinely playable open-position fingering means there's no technical reason to delay learning it until E major feels fully secure first.
B7 on other instruments: B7 on Piano, B7 on Ukulele. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.