G7 Chord on Ukulele
G7 = G – B – D – F (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th)
G7 trades G major's three-finger stretch for a slightly different three-finger shape that's arguably easier to land cleanly: middle finger on the C string's second fret, index finger on the E string's first fret, and ring finger on the A string's second fret, with the G string open. It's built by adding the chord's flatted seventh and, in this fingering, actually removing the highest fret G major needed — a rare case where a seventh chord is no harder than its triad. Beginners are sometimes surprised to learn G7 by itself before mastering plain G major, simply because the seventh-chord shape happens to sit lower on the neck.
G7 is the dominant seventh built on G, which makes it the V7 chord in the key of C — a stronger pull back to the tonic than a plain V chord because the added seventh creates a tritone with the chord's third, and that tritone is exactly what wants to resolve into C major's root and third. It's one of the most common cadential chords in simple ukulele repertoire for that reason, especially in older or folk-leaning material that leans on strong V7-I resolutions. Outside of resolving to C, G7 also works as a brief moment of tension inside a G major song before returning home, since it shares three of its four notes with the plain G triad. Because this particular voicing keeps the open G string, it also retains more of the key's characteristic open-string resonance than some higher, barred voicings of the same chord would, which is part of why it's the version taught first.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
Because none of the three fingers reach past the second fret, this shape is genuinely compact — the challenge is timing the release from G major (which uses the E string's third fret) into G7 (which drops that same string to the first fret) smoothly, since it's easy to either leave the finger too high or overshoot past the target fret. Practicing G-to-G7-to-C as a three-chord loop builds both the shape and the cadence's sound at once. Listen closely to how the chord resolves when you land on C afterward — that tension-and-release is the whole point of a dominant seventh chord, and hearing it clearly makes the theory concrete rather than abstract. A useful secondary exercise is comparing G7 against C7 side by side, since both are dominant sevenths built from mostly low, compact shapes, and hearing how each pulls toward its own tonic sharpens a beginner's ear for cadences generally, not just this one chord's resolution.
Common Progressions
- V7 – I (G7 – C)
- I – IV – V7 – I (C – F – G7 – C)
- ii – V7 – I (Dm – G7 – C)
- A simple two-chord back-and-forth between C and G7 works as a full vamp on its own.
FAQ
- Is G7 harder to play than G major on ukulele?
- No — it's actually a slightly lower, more compact shape, since the highest fret G major needs (the third fret) is replaced by a first-fret note in G7.
- Why does G7 resolve so strongly to C?
- The added seventh forms a tritone with the chord's third, and that unstable interval wants to resolve inward, landing on C major's root and third — the classic V7-I cadence.
- How many notes does G7 share with plain G major?
- Three of its four notes — the root, third, and fifth are identical; only the added flatted seventh is new, which is why G7 can substitute for G in a progression to add brief tension without losing the chord's identity.
- What songs or styles lean especially hard on G7?
- Folk, old-time, and early jazz-influenced ukulele repertoire use G7-to-C resolutions constantly, since that cadence was a foundational building block of popular song harmony well before the ukulele's own tin-pan-alley and hapa haole era.
- Does this G7 shape keep any open strings?
- Yes — the G string itself stays open, which preserves some of the key's characteristic ring even while the chord carries the extra tension of its added seventh on the other three strings.
- How does this G7 shape compare to G major in difficulty?
- It's arguably easier, since none of its three fretted notes climb past the second fret, while G major's shape reaches to the third fret — a rare case where the seventh chord is the gentler introduction.
G7 on other instruments: G7 on Guitar, G7 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.