E7 guitar chord

E dominant 7th · Edom7 · E seventh

The E7 guitar chord is played 020100 in open position. Its notes are E, G#, B and D.

E7 open chord (020100)

Fingering: 020100
Fingers: – 2 – 1 – –
Difficulty: Easy
Position: open position

E7 chord at the 5th fret (x7675x)

Fingering: x7675x
Fingers: – 3 2 4 1 –
Difficulty: Medium
Position: 5th fret

E7 barre chord, 7th fret (779797)

Fingering: 779797
Fingers: 1 1 3 1 4 1
Difficulty: Hard
Position: barre chord, 7th fret

E7 chord at the 9th fret (x-x-9-9-9-10)

Fingering: x-x-9-9-9-10
Fingers: – – 1 1 1 2
Difficulty: Medium
Position: 9th fret

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Notes in the E dominant 7th chord

The E7 chord is made of E · G♯ · B · D. Its formula is 1–3–5–♭7.

Note	Degree	Interval from E
E	1	root
G♯	3	major third
B	5	perfect fifth
D	♭7	minor seventh

How to play the E7 guitar chord

Second finger on the 2nd fret of the A string, first finger on the 1st fret of the G string. The D string rings open, and you strum all six strings.

It is the E chord with the third finger lifted off. The open D string that this uncovers is the seventh.

Why your E7 chord buzzes or sounds muted

Because the D string is open between two fretted strings, the second finger tends to lean on it. If the chord sounds like plain E, that string is being muted.

E7 barre chord

E7 has 1 barre shape here: 779797 (barre at the 7th fret).

A barre shape has no open strings, so it moves. Slide it up one fret and you are playing F7.

E7 open chord

The open E7 chord is 020100. It uses the open low E, D, B and high E strings, which is why it rings longer than the shapes higher up the neck.

Songs that use E7

Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen): C Am F G E7
Hit the Road Jack (Ray Charles): Am G F E7
Fly Me to the Moon (Jazz standard): Am7 Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 Fmaj7 Bm7b5 E7
Minor Swing (Django Reinhardt): Am Dm E7
Imagine (John Lennon): C Cmaj7 F Am Dm G E7

Chord names only, as the songs are usually charted for guitar. Recordings may use a capo or another key.

Keys with the E7 chord

E7 is the V chord in A major. In minor keys it is the VII chord in F# minor.

All 7th guitar chords

E7 guitar chord questions

How do you play an E7 chord on guitar?

Play 020100, reading from the low E string to the high E string. An x means the string is not played and a 0 means it rings open. The fingers used are - 2 - 1 - -.

What notes are in the E7 chord?

The E dominant 7th chord has 4 notes: E, G#, B and D. Its formula is 1–3–5–♭7, counted from the E major scale.

What keys is the E7 chord in?