B7

B1D♯3F♯5A♭7

Major triad, minor seventh. The chord that wants to resolve a fourth up.

on guitar on piano the scale

Every fingering that fits a hand

Fig. 2

4320

easy

Fig. 3

4350

easy · no 5

Fig. 4

4656

moderate

Fig. 5

435x

easy · no 5

Fig. 6

4352

hard · no 5

What is true of it

B7 is B, D♯, F♯ and A — 1, 3, 5 and b7 counted from B.

On an instrument that cannot reach all 4, the 5 goes first, in that order.

The easiest of the 5 fingerings below is 4320: 3 fingers, held at the 2nd fret.

None of them uses an open string, so this chord moves up the neck unchanged — the same shape 1 fret higher is the chord a semitone above.

Where its notes are on the neck

Fig. 7 — first 12 frets

The brass dots are B, the root. Everything else is a chord tone with its degree printed in it.

With a different note underneath

first inversion

B7/D♯

8979

second inversion

B7/F♯

bbbc

third inversion

B7/A

2322

An inversion is the same chord with a different note lowest. The name changes to a slash name because the bass is what a listener hears as the foundation.

B in other shapes

Bmaj7major seventh Bm7minor seventh Bm(maj7)minor major seventh Bmajor Bmminor Bdimdiminished

C7 C♯7 D♭7 D7 D♯7 E♭7 E7 F7 all 374