36 Ways of Playing a Dominant 7 Chord on Guitar

How is Built a Dominant 7th Chord?

Dominant 7 chords are built from the fifth note of any scale. Exemple with the C major scale, the dominant chord is formed by stacking thirds from the fifth note of C major which is G.

The principle is the same with the melodic minor scale, when stacking thirds on the fifth degree of the C minor melodic scale we get a G7 chord.

You can see a dominant 7 chord as a major triad (1 3 5) with an added flattened seventh (b7) giving the following interval pattern :

• R (root note)
• 3 (major third)
• 5 (perfect fifth)
• b7 (minor seventh)

Dominant 7 chords are generally written with a "7" beside the name of the root of the chord, example with C7. They are represented with "V" when using roman numerals, exemple V7.

Open Dominant 7 Chord Shapes

The following open chord shapes represent the starting point for a beginner. They are mostly used to play songs. Open chords are generally easy to play, they don't require much dexterity to execute. 

The particularity of these types of chords is that they have open strings that are played. In the diagrams below the open strings are represented by a little circle near the nut.

Barre Chord Shapes

Barre chords require more finger strenght indeed, you need to bar with you index to play them. This is a real difficulty for a beginner. The interest of barre chords is that they are are movable, in other words it means that the two guitar shapes below can be moved all across the guitar neck.

For example, to play a G7 chord using the first diagram on the left you must bar the third fret with your index finger. Move the position up to fret and you get an A7.

Dominant 7 Jazz Chord Positions - Drop Voicings

Now you have mastered all the basic dominant 7 chord positions it's time to move on more complex shapes. The following provides 28 supplementary dominant 7 chord positions based on drop 2, drop 3 and drop 2-4 voicings.

You are probably wondering what are drop voicings, here is a small reminder :

• Drop 2 chords are built by dropping the second highest note of a four-note chord in close position down an octave.
• Drop 3 chords are formed by dropping the third highest note of a four-note chord down an octave.
• Drop 2 and 4 chords are created by dropping down an octave the second and fourth note of a seventh chord in close position.

 Drop 2 Dominant 7 Chord Shapes

The three guitar neck diagrams below show how to play drop 2 dominant 7 chords on guitar. Each diagram contains four different dom7 chord shapes. The first diagram have the bass notes on the fourth string, the second have bass notes on the fifth string and the third have root notes on the sixth string.

Remember that there are only four notes (1 - 3 - 5 - b7), they are simply played in a different order.

Drop 3 Dominant 7 Chord Shapes

The next two diagrams contain eight other dominant 7 chord voicing shapes. You can see that there is a string skip between the lowest note of each shape. This is the particularity of the drop 3 chords.

Drop 2-4 Dominant 7 Chord Shapes

Drop 2-4 voicings are not the most used in jazz guitar but it is interesting to know them. The next two diagrams give you eight new possibilities to play dominant 7 chords on guitar.

• 

  Guitar Chord Dictionary

  This PDF eBook provides over 550 guitar chord shapes. This is the perfect reference guide to understand how chords are built and how to play them on guitar.
• 

  172 Arpeggio Shapes For Guitar

  This printable PDF is a method dedicated to guitarists of all styles who want to learn the most important types of arpeggios.
• 

  126 Triad Chord Shapes

  This handbook for guitar players is intended both for teachers and students. It includes 126 guitar shapes for mastering triads.
• 

  II V I Bundle - 170 Exercises

  This bundle contains 4 PDF methods for a total of 170 exercises with tabs & audio files for practicing scales, licks & chords over the famous 2-5-1 progression.
• 

  Diatonic Licks Bundle

  This package contains 120 jazz guitar lines based on diatonic modes as Mixolydian, Dorian and Ionian. PDF format with tabs, audio files and analysis.
• 

  30 Smooth Jazz Guitar Licks

  In this package you'll get a printable PDF Method with tabs, notation, analysis, scale shapes and audio files related to 30 smooth jazz guitar licks.
• 

  40 II V I Jazz Guitar Licks

  This pdf method for guitar contains fourteen 2 5 1 jazz guitar lines with tab, standard notation, analysis, scale charts and audio files.
• 

  50 II-V-I voicings

  This guitar method is a printable PDF eBook containing 50 exercises with audio files, analysis, tab & standard notation.
• 

  40 Minor 2 5 1 Chord Voicings

  This PDF method contains 40 exercices with tabs, scores and audio files for practicing jazz guitar chords over the minor 2 5 1 progression.
• 

  40 Minor II V I Licks

  This guitar method is a printable PDF with tabs, diagrams, theory and audio files providing 40 minor 2 5 1 jazz patterns.
• 

  40 Mixolydian Jazz Guitar Lick

  PDF guitar method with tabs, audio files and theory providing 40 dominant jazz guitar lines for teachers and students.
• 

  40 Minor Jazz Guitar Licks

  This printable guitar method in PDF format contains 40 easy minor jazz guitar lines based on the Dorian mode.
• 

  40 Major Jazz Guitar Licks

  Printable PDF eBook method containing 40 major jazz guitar licks with tab, standard notation and audio files for beginners and intermediates.
• 

  Guitar Walking Bass Lines

  This jazz guitar method about walking bass lines and chords is available as a PDF files containing 35 exercises with tabs, analysis and audio files
• 

  101 Dominant Arpeggio Patterns

  This printable PDF method provides 101 dominant arpeggio exercises with tab, theory and standard notation for the jazz, blues and rock guitarist.
• 

  49 Essential Jazz Lines

  This printable eBook method in PDF format provides 49 jazz solo transcriptions of the greatest jazz musicians. Tab, standard notation, audio files & analysis.
• 

  11 Jazz Blues Studies

  This PDF method contains 11 guitar lessons with chord studies, tabs, standard notation, analysis & audio files about the main blues progressions used in jazz music.
• 

  25 Altered Jazz Guitar Lines

  This PDF eBook method contains 25 altered jazz guitar licks with tabs, patterns, scale charts and audio files to master, apply and develop the altered scale.
• 

  40 Blues Dominant patterns

  This printable method is available as a PDF file containing 40 easy dominant jazz-blues guitar lines with tabs, standard notation, analysis, audio files and scale charts.
• 

  Mastering Pentatonic Scales

  This jazz guitar method is an eBook available as a PDF with standard notation, guitar tabs, diagrams, analysis, audio files and backing tracks. You will find in this booklet 25 easy jazz guitar lines with theory using common and rare pentatonic scales.
• 

  25 Soul Jazz Guitar Licks

  You will find here an eBook available in PDF containing 25 soul jazz and hard bop guitar licks in the style of Grant Green, Melvin Sparks, George Benson. These jazz lines come with tabs, standard notation, guitar neck diagrams, backing track for practice and 25 audio files for each riff.
• 

  25 Diminished Patterns

  This eBook PDF with audio files contains 25 dominant diminished jazz guitar patterns using the half-whole diminished scale and diminished 7th arpeggios.
• 

  6 Tritone substitution licks

  This Printable PDF eBook available for free download contains 6 easy jazz guitar licks with tabs/notation, youtube video link and analysis about the tritone substitution.