Dominant 7 Guitar Chords: Voicings, Shapes & Inversions

Dominant 7 chords are one of the most important seventh-chord types in jazz and blues guitar.

In this lesson, you'll learn how dominant 7th chords are built and how to play movable dominant 7 guitar chord shapes using root positions, inversions, Drop 2, Drop 3 and Drop 2-4 voicings.

Dominant 7 Chord Formula

A Dominant 7th chord is a major triad with an added minor seventh. The formula is :

root (1)

major  third (3)

perfect fifth (5)

minor seventh (b7).

How to Build a Dominant 7 Chord

As it is shown in the chart below, dominant 7th chords are built by stacking thirds :

G and B = major third 

B and D = minor third 

D and F = minor third

Dominant 7th Chord Symbol

Dominant seventh chords are usually written with the root note followed by 7, such as C7, G7 or Bb7

Dominant 7 vs Major 7

Major 7 chords contain a major third (3) and a major seventh (7), whereas dominant 7 chords contain a major third (3) and a minor seventh (b7).

That's the only difference between a maj7 and a dom7 chord.

Dominant 7 vs Minor 7

Minor seventh chords are built with a minor third (b3) and a minor seventh (b7).

In dominant chords only the seventh is minor.

Dominant 7 Chords Harmonic Function

Dominant 7th chords have a primary place in many jazz chord progressions (I-VI-II-V, III and VI-II-V or II-V-I) whose role is to drive to or resolve to the tonic note or chord.

Dominant 7 chords are also commonly used in blues progressions on the I, IV and V degrees.

What is  a Drop 2 Voicing?

Drop 2 chords are the most popular chord voicings used in jazz guitar.

Drop 2 voicings are particularly useful on guitar because their wider spacing can make many shapes comfortable to play.

A Drop 2 voicing is created by taking the second-highest note of a four-note close-position chord and lowering it by one octave.

Dominant seventh close chord formula is 1-3-5-b7, giving the following drop 2 chord formula 5-1-3-b7. 

What Is An Inverted Chord?

The root of an inverted chord is not in the bass. In other words, it means that the notes of a chord are inverted.

As you can see in the guitar diagrams above, there can be a third, a fifth or a seventh in the bass. 

Dominant 7 Voicing Chart

There are four dominant 7th voicings in the following chart.

The first corresponds to the root chord. It has its root (R) on the sixth string.

This is not a "close position" but an "open position".

Dominant 7th close positions (1, 3, 5, b7) are quite difficult to play because they require an uncomfortable finger placement.

Then, you can see three inverted chords related to the root position. (The notes of an inverted chord are simply played in a different order).

The first inversion has the third in the bass.

The second inversion has the fifth in the bass.

The third inversion has the minor seventh in the bass.

Drop 2 Dominant 7 Guitar Chord Shapes

The diagrams below show how to play the four dominant 7 Drop 2 voicings across the guitar neck.

Each voicing has an assigned colour. Black for the root position, blues for the first inversion, red for the second inversion and green for the third inversion. 

What Is a Drop 3 Voicing?

These chords are named drop 3 because the 3rd note in a closed voicing has been “dropped”.

They are built by taking the 3rd highest note in a closed position chord and lowering it by an octave.

Here are four drop 3 dominant 7 voicings related to the eight guitar diagrams below.

Drop 3 Dominant 7 Guitar Chord Shapes

Here are four drop 3 dominant voicings with the lowest note on the 5th and 6th string.

The black notes correspond to the root position, the blue notes to the 1st inversion, the red notes to the 2nd inversion and the green notes to the 3rd inversion.

What Is a Drop 2 & 4 Voicing?

Drop 2 and 4 chords are very important tools for arrangement, composition and can be useful for chord-melody playing.

Drop 2-4 voicings are built by dropping down an octave the second and fourth note of a tetrad chord in close position.

The two guitar neck diagrams below show the four dominant 7 drop 2-4 voicings.

The root voicing is represented by the black dots, the first inversion by the blue dots, the second by the red dots and the third by the green dots.

A dominant 7 chord is built from the 5th degree of a scale, it creates a strong feeling of tension and resolution, making it an essential chord to understand.

Dominant 7 Chords in Major Keys

For example, in C major, the 5th degree is G:

G7 = G – B – D – F

The dominant 7 chord naturally creates tension that wants to resolve to the tonic chord (I):

G7 to C

This is one of the most common chord movements in tonal music.

The main function of a dominant 7 chord is to create tension before resolution.

In a 2 5 1 in C major:

Am7 | G7 | Cmaj7

The G7 creates tension, and the return to Cmaj7 provides a satisfying resolution.

The same principle works in every key:

D7 to G

A7 to D

E7 to A

B7 to E

A simple way to remember it is:

V7 to I

The dominant 7 chord is the V7 chord, and it normally resolves to the I chord.

Dominant 7 Chords in a Minor Key

Dominant 7 chords are also very important in minor keys.

In A minor, the dominant chord is E7:

E7 to Am7

A great example is a minor ii–V–i progression in A minor:

Bm7b5 | E7 | Am7

Bmb5 = iiø7

E7 = V7

Am7 = i

The E7 is the dominant 7 chord. Its G# creates strong tension that resolves upward to A in the Am chord.

Practice

Play:

Bm7b5 | E7 | Am7 | % |

Then try adding extensions:

Bm7b5 | E7b9 | Am7 | % |

The E7b9 gives an even stronger pull toward Am7.

Dominant 7 Chords in a Blues

In a blues, dominant 7 chords are used differently from the classical ii–V–i: they can be used on all three main chords, not just on the V chord.

Simple 12-bar blues in A

| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 |
| D7 | D7 | A7 | A7 |
| E7 | D7 | A7 | E7 |

Here, A7, D7, and E7 are all dominant 7 chords.

Why does it work?

In a blues, the dominant 7 sound creates a characteristic tension and “bluesy” color. The chords don't always resolve in the traditional V7 to I.

The A7 is the tonic chord, but it is still a dominant 7 chord. This is one of the key differences between a traditional blues and classical harmony.

Notice that there are many variations of the blues progression.

What is a dominant 7 chord on guitar?

A dominant 7 chord contains a root, major third, perfect fifth and minor seventh: 1–3–5–♭7.

What are the notes in a C7 chord?

C7 contains C–E–G–Bb.

What is the formula for a dominant 7 chord?

The formula is 1–3–5–♭7.

What are Drop 2 dominant 7 chords?

Drop 2 dominant 7 voicings are four-note dominant seventh shapes created by lowering the second-highest note of a closed-position voicing by one octave.

What are the inversions of a dominant 7 chord?

A four-note dominant 7 chord has three inversions: first inversion puts the 3rd in the bass, second inversion puts the 5th in the bass, and third inversion puts the ♭7 in the bass.

Where are dominant 7 chords used in jazz?

They are especially important in dominant-function situations such as II–V–I progressions, as well as blues harmony.