Practice the C7 chord on Guitar with Live Feedback

The C7 chord, short for C dominant seventh, is spelled C, E, G and Bb: a major triad with a minor seventh on top. The E and Bb form a tritone, and that tension is what pulls the chord toward F.

This page lists 17 voicings, six of them barre shapes and just one with an open string. C7 is the V7 chord in F major, and every one of its notes belongs to the C Mixolydian scale.

The chord player at the top lets you hear C7 strummed and then as an arpeggio.

C dominant 7th guitar chord is also written as C7, Cdom7 or Cdom.

Notes in the C 7 chord:

C E G Bb

Formula of the Dominant Seventh chord:

Formula: 1 3 5 b7

C 7 Chord Interactive Fretboard

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Go to the full guitar chords tutorial.

C 7 Guitar Chord Diagrams

Position 1 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 1 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 3 of the G string

Position 2 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 3 of the A, G and high E strings at the same time
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 5 of the D string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 5 of the B string

Position 3 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Place your index finger (1) on the fret 8 of the low E, D and high E strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 10 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 11 of the B string

Position 4 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the D, G and B strings at the same time
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 6 of the high E string

Position 5 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the B string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 3 of the A string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the G string

Position 6 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 8 of the high E string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 10 of the D string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 11 of the B string

Position 7 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Place your index finger (1) on the fret 8 of the low E, D, B and high E strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 10 of the A string

Position 8 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the A string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 8 of the low E string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 8 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 8 of the B string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 9 of the G string

Position 9 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 10 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 11 of the B string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 12 of the G string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 12 of the high E string

Position 10 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 12 of the high E string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 13 of the B string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 14 of the D string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 15 of the G string

Position 11 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the B string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 3 of the A string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the G string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 3 of the high E string

Position 12 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the A string
Mute the B string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 3 of the low E string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the G string

Position 13 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the D, G and B strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 6 of the high E string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 7 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 8 of the low E string

Position 14 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 13 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 14 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 15 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 15 of the G string

Position 15 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 3 of the G and high E strings at the same time
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 5 of the D string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 5 of the B string

Position 16 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 1 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the G string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 3 of the high E string

Position 17 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 1 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 3 of the G string

Find more shapes in our all guitar chords online library. If you prefer a printable pdf, download the Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf

Play This Chord With Other Roots

C 7 | D 7 | E 7 | F 7 | G 7 | A 7 | B 7 | C#7 | D#7 | F#7 | G#7 | A#7 | Ab7 | Bb7 | Db7 | Eb7 | Gb7

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Created by

Giancarlo Facoetti

Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher

FAQ

What notes are in a C7 chord?

C7 (C dominant seventh) contains C, E, G and Bb. That is a C major triad plus the flat seventh, Bb, stacked as root, major third, perfect fifth and minor seventh.

Which scale fits a C7 chord?

C Mixolydian is C, D, E, F, G, A and Bb, and it includes every note of the chord. You can improvise over C7 with those seven notes.

In which key is C7 the V7 chord?

C7 is the V7 chord of F major. The Bb in the chord is the fourth degree of F major, which is why it pulls back toward F.

How many ways can I play a C dominant seventh on guitar?

There are 17 voicings, sitting between fret 1 and fret 15. One uses an open string and six are barre voicings.

What is the tritone inside C7?

The E and the Bb are six semitones apart, which makes a tritone. That unstable interval between the third and the flat seventh gives the chord its pull toward F.