G7 guitar chord
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. Because it costs no finger, it sounds a note the closed shape has none left for -- a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath. Either a familiar grip with open strings added, or a shape so sparse the open strings carry the chord. These belong to their key rather than to a shape, so D, A, G and E have many and Eb a handful.
- Tap a note to hear it
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- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About G7 — open string voicings
G7 is G, B, D and F — G with the flat seventh added on top.
It sounds restless and pointed at something. The third and the flat seventh are a tritone apart and each moves by a semitone into the next chord; that is the engine of a cadence, and the whole vocabulary of the blues.
G7 notes and formula
| G | B | D | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | ♭7 |
Dominant — it points a fifth down.
Also written Gdom7 or G dominant 7. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play G7
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. It costs no finger, so it can sound a note the closed shape has none left for: a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath.
These belong to their key rather than to a shape: they cannot be moved up the neck. D, A, G and E have many; E♭ has a handful.
G7 has 6 of them, on strings 6-5-4-3-2-1, strings 6-4-3-2-1, strings 5-4-3-2-1 and the top four strings, from the 2nd fret up to the 5th — every inversion the chord has: G in the bass, B in the bass, D in the bass and F in the bass. The one to learn first is the B shape at the 2nd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with 320001 — no barre and 3 open strings. 1 of the 7 shapes here sits in open position. 4 of the 7 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 320001 | open position | G, root position | F | 3 open strings |
| 353433 | 3rd fret | G, root position | G | barred |
| xx5767 | 5th fret | G, root position | B | all fretted |
| x-10-9-10-8-x | 8th fret | G, root position | G | all fretted |
| x-10-12-10-12-10 | 10th fret | G, root position | D | barred |
| x-x-12-12-12-13 | 12th fret | D, 2nd inversion | F | barred |
| 15-14-12-12-12-13 | 12th fret | G, root position | F | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 5 shell, 15 drop 2 and 10 drop 3 voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of G7, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the b9 (Ab), the 9 (A), the #9 (A#), the #11 (C#), the b13 (Eb) and the 13 (E).
How to use G7
G7 is the V of C, and that is where it goes if it goes anywhere: the third and the flat seventh are a tritone apart, and both resolve by a semitone into C.
Voice by voice, G7 → C. 2 voices move by a semitone, and one note is common to both chords.
| In G7 | Moves | In C |
|---|---|---|
| G, the root | stays where it is | G, the fifth |
| B, the major third | rises a semitone | C, the root |
| D, the fifth | falls a whole tone | C, the root |
| F, the flat seventh | falls a semitone | E, the major third |
In which keys. Every note of G7 belongs to C major (the V, the dominant) and A minor (the ♭VII).
What to play over G7
Every note of G7 is in G mixolydian, G lydian dominant and G half-whole diminished.
Chords near G7
Change one note of G7 and you have G (drop the flat seventh), Gmaj7 (the flat seventh becomes a major seventh), Gm7 (the major third becomes a minor third), Gadd9 (the flat seventh becomes a ninth), G6 (the flat seventh becomes a sixth) or G7sus4 (the major third becomes a fourth).
G7 is a dominant chord — root, major third, fifth, minor seventh. Dominant seventh chords on every root.
On G7’s sound and use this page follows Edward Aldwell & Carl Schachter, Harmony and Voice Leading (Schirmer / Cengage, 4th ed., 2011). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.