How to play the E Dominant 7th chord on guitar
E7 keeps the open resonance of E major while adding the restless seventh, and it is the classic opening chord of a blues in E or A. Two fingerings are common; the two-finger version is the one most players default to.
E Dominant 7th is a dominant seventh: the E triad with a flattened seventh on top — E, G#, B, D. That added note is what gives it its bluesy, unfinished pull.
Finger it one string at a time
- low E string: play it open.
- A string: fret 2 with your middle finger.
- D string: play it open.
- G string: fret 1 with your index finger.
- B string: play it open.
- high E string: play it open.
Just an E major with your ring finger removed.
What makes this shape awkward
- 4 strings ring open, which is what gives this shape its sustain — but it also means any finger leaning against a neighbouring string will deaden it. Arch your knuckles.
Where you'll use it
E7 appears in 3 of the play-along progressions in RiffRoute. These are the actual sequences it sits in:
- Delta Turnaround (Texas Blues, 110 BPM) —
A7 → D7 → A7 → D7 → A7 → E7 → D7 → A7 → … - Pocket Funk (Funk, 100 BPM) —
E7 → A7 → B7 - Dust & Shadows (Desert Rock, 92 BPM) —
Am → Asus4 → F → E7
Chords it's usually played with
In the progressions that use E7, these turn up alongside it most often — learning them together is more useful than learning E7 alone.
Hear it and check yourself
Reading a diagram only gets you so far — the part that decides whether E7 sounds right is whether every string rings cleanly. RiffRoute plays the chord back, listens while you strum it, and tells you which string is buzzing.