Guitar chord reference
Dominant 7 guitar chord: five CAGED shapes
A dominant seventh chord combines a major triad with a flattened 7th. Its major 3rd and minor 7th create the tension that drives functional resolution and blues harmony.
Chord construction and function
The 3rd and ♭7 are the guide tones. Their tritone determines the chord’s pull even when roots or 5ths are omitted from a practical voicing.
- Chord formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- Notes in C7
- C · E · G · B♭
C7 in CAGED neck order
Root notes are highlighted. Read each movable voicing as a set of chord tones, not simply as a copied open shape.
C shape
A shape
G shape
E shape
D shape
Practice drill
Find and play only 3 and ♭7 inside each diagram before adding the complete chord. Resolve those guide tones by the smallest movement into a tonic major shape.
Open the chord randomiser