B Dominant 7th
B7
Notes
B · D♯ · F♯ · A
Intervals
- RootB (1P)
- Major 3rdD♯ (3M)
- Perfect 5thF♯ (5P)
- Minor 7thA (7m)
Fretboard
Adjust labels, frets, and palette in the interactive view.
Voicings & shapes
Drop-2 voicings (12)
Drop-3 voicings (8)
Shell voicings (2)
About
The B7 dominant seventh (B–D♯–F♯–A) is the primary tension-bearing chord in tonal harmony. Its pull toward resolution comes from the tritone between D♯ and A — these two notes want to resolve inward, landing in the V–I cadence on E. The 3rd and ♭7 are essential: they form the tritone, and they distinguish a dominant 7 from a Bm7. The fifth can be freely omitted without weakening the harmonic function. On guitar, shell voicings (1–3–♭7) are common in jazz; full voicings appear in blues and rhythm playing. Compared to BMaj7, dominant 7 is harmonically active and directional — it is a chord that moves.
Chord diagrams
B Dominant 7th voicing charts — tap a sheet to open it full size to save or print.
Similar chords
Chords sharing two or more notes with this one, ranked by overlap.
Scales containing this chord
- B Mixolydian (I)
- A Diminished (deg 2)
- A Lydian (II)
- A♭ Phrygian (III)
- C Diminished (deg 8)
- D♭ Natural Minor (VII)
- E Harmonic Minor (V)
- E Major (V)
- E Melodic Minor (V)
- E♭ Diminished (deg 6)
- E♭ Locrian (VI)
- F♯ Diminished (deg 4)
- F♯ Dorian (IV)
- F♯ Melodic Minor (IV)
Scales whose notes include every chord tone. The Roman numeral (or scale degree) marks the chord root’s position in the scale.