E7 Chord on Piano
E7 = E – G# – B – D (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th)
Count off a twelve-bar blues in E on any bandstand and this is the very first chord you'll hear: E7, spelled E, G#, B, and D. That D is added a whole step under the octave E, and because it happens to land on a white key, the four-note chord costs no more black-key reach than the plain triad already required — just the one raised G# in the middle. Formally, E7 is the V7 of A major, but its blues identity often overshadows that classical role, since guitarists and pianists both gravitate to E as one of the guitar's most naturally resonant keys.
Extending the pinky down to D is the only change E7 asks for beyond the familiar E major shape, with the thumb on E and middle finger on G# staying exactly where they were. What makes the chord restless is the tritone hiding between G# and D — the same unstable six-semitone gap that powers every dominant seventh — and in strict classical terms that tension wants to resolve onto A major. Blues and boogie-woogie playing largely ignore that expectation, though: a standard twelve-bar blues in E treats E7 as a static, looping home sound for measures at a stretch, letting the "unresolved" seventh function as color rather than a chord that owes the ear a resolution. Rock and blues guitarists frequently favor E7 as an opening or closing chord for exactly this reason, and pianists who share the stage with them need this shape as fluently as any plain triad.
Voicings
Root Position
1st Inversion
How to Practice It
Build E7 directly from the E major triad already under your fingers, adding only the pinky reach to D while the thumb and middle finger hold still. Since this chord genuinely lives a double life, practice it two distinct ways: first resolving cleanly into A major with real weight on the arrival, and separately, looped for eight bars exactly as a blues rhythm section would use it, never resolving at all. Second inversion — B, D, E, G# — pulls the tritone's two notes close enough together to hear the dissonance clearly, which is worth isolating on its own before folding it back into either context. Try comping E7 with a simple left-hand rhythm pattern too, since real blues piano rarely holds it as a static block chord for long stretches.
Common Progressions
- E7 – A (V7 – I in A major), a clean classical dominant resolution
- E7 – A – D – A (V7 – I – IV – I in A major), stretching that resolution into a short phrase
- A – E7 – A (I – V7 – I), E7 working as a turnaround back to the tonic
- E7 – E7 – E7 – E7, the opening bars of a standard twelve-bar blues built entirely around E
- F#m – B – E7 (ii – V/V – V7 in A major), stacking secondary dominants on the way to A
FAQ
- Why does E7 open so many twelve-bar blues progressions?
- E is one of the most guitar-resonant blues keys, and E7 functions as a static tonic-color chord for much of the form rather than resolving immediately — bands in E lean on it constantly for exactly that reason.
- Does E7 require more black keys than the plain E triad?
- No — the added note, D, is a white key, so E7 still needs only the single black key, G#, that E major itself already uses.
- What note pair creates E7's tension?
- G# and D, a tritone apart. That unstable interval is identical in every dominant seventh chord regardless of root, and here it wants to resolve outward onto the notes of A major.
- Do rock and blues guitarists favor E7 specifically?
- Yes — it's a common opening and closing chord in E-based blues and rock repertoire, and pianists sharing a stage with guitarists need it as comfortably as any plain major triad.
- Should E7 always resolve immediately once played?
- No — context decides that. In a strict classical passage it typically resolves quickly to A major, but in blues, gospel, or rock it can sit unresolved for measures without sounding wrong.
- Is E7 harder to play than a plain E major triad?
- Only slightly — it's a small pinky extension beyond the triad, with no new black key involved, so most players who already know E major pick up E7 within a few minutes of practice.
E7 on other instruments: E7 on Guitar, E7 on Ukulele. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.