F#7 Chord on Ukulele
F#7 = F# – A# – C# – E (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th)
F#7 adds the flatted seventh, E, to the F# major triad, and on ukulele that fourth note forces the chord away from the compact closed shape F# major uses. One workable voicing frets the G string at the third, the C string at the sixth, leaves the E string open (since open E is exactly the chord's seventh), and frets the A string at the fourth — a real stretch across the neck's lower-middle frets rather than a tidy first-position shape. It's a chord that rewards knowing the neck past the first three frets, which most F# and F#-adjacent shapes eventually demand. Every one of the chord's four notes — F#, A#, C#, and E — appears exactly once across the four strings with no doubling, which is part of why the voicing needs so much room: spreading four distinct dominant-seventh tones across four strings without repeating any of them often forces at least one string well away from the nut on this short, reentrant-tuned instrument.
As a dominant seventh chord, F#7 wants to resolve to B — it's the V7 of B major, carrying both the leading tone (A#) and the tension note (E) that pull the ear strongly toward that resolution, more insistently than the plain F# major triad manages on its own. Dominant sevenths are the workhorse chord of the ukulele's jazz and swing-era repertoire, where a quick move through a secondary dominant like F#7 before landing on Bm or B major adds harmonic color that a straight triad can't. Because the open E string is doing real acoustic work in this voicing, F#7 keeps a bit of ring and resonance despite its otherwise fretted, up-the-neck geometry. It can also serve as a secondary dominant briefly tonicizing B minor inside a D major or A major progression, a common move in ukulele arrangements that want a moment of harmonic surprise before returning to their home key.
Fingerings
Mid-Neck Position
How to Practice It
This shape spans from the third fret to the sixth, which is a genuine reach for smaller hands — anchor the thumb centrally behind the neck rather than letting it creep over the top, and bring the fretting hand's whole position up the neck rather than trying to stretch fingers from a first-position hand angle. Because the open E string carries the crucial seventh, check it's not muted by the middle finger's positioning on the nearby C string. If the stretch proves awkward at first, isolate the C-string sixth-fret note and the A-string fourth-fret note as a two-finger drill before adding the G string, since those two are the ones most likely to fight each other for space. Once the shape feels secure, practice resolving it into B major slowly, listening for how the open E string's tension note pulls naturally into B's own D# third.
Common Progressions
- V7 – I (F#7 – B, in the key of B major)
- V7 – i (F#7 – Bm, resolving to B minor instead)
- ii – V7 – I in B major (C#m – F#7 – B)
- F#7 as a secondary dominant leading briefly toward Bm inside a D major progression
FAQ
- What does F#7 resolve to?
- Most naturally to B major (or B minor), since F#7 is the dominant seventh chord built on the fifth degree of the B major scale and carries both its leading tone and its characteristic tension note.
- Why does the F#7 shape go so far up the neck?
- Because the chord's four notes — F#, A#, C#, and E — don't line up compactly near the open position on GCEA tuning, so the lowest-fret voicing that avoids foreign notes stretches from around the third to the sixth fret instead.
- Does F#7 use any open strings?
- Yes — the E string can ring open, since its natural pitch is exactly the chord's flatted seventh, which keeps some resonance in an otherwise fully fretted, up-the-neck shape.
- Is F#7 common in ukulele songbooks?
- Less common than G7 or C7, since it belongs most naturally to the B major and F# minor family of keys, but it appears regularly as a secondary dominant in D and A major material that briefly tonicizes B.
- Why does this F#7 voicing avoid doubling any note?
- With only four strings and four distinct chord tones needed, there's no spare string left to double anything — unlike triads, which often have a leftover string free for doubling the root or fifth, a four-note dominant seventh on ukulele typically uses every string for a different pitch.
- Is there an easier, lower-position substitute for F#7?
- Some players simplify by omitting the fifth and using only the root, third, and seventh across three strings, muting the fourth, which sacrifices a little fullness for a shape that sits closer to the nut and is faster to grab mid-song.
F#7 on other instruments: F#7 on Guitar, F#7 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.