The B7 guitar chord is often one of the first few chords a beginner guitar player learns. It is viewed as an essential guitar chord, and is used in many songs.
You commonly find it after E, A, and G chords in many songs. So work on those changes!
B7 is also known as the B dominant 7th chord or B Dom. Other dominant 7th chords are A7, C7, D7, E7, F7, and G7.
Playing the B7 Chord
Here is the first version of the B7 guitar chord. It might look intimidating, but I assure you that with practice, it will become easy just like and E, G, A or any of the easier guitar chords.
The finger position for this B7 is 2nd finger on the 5th string 2nd fret, 1st finger on the 4th string 1st fret, 3rd finger on the 3rd string 2nd fret, open 2nd string, and 4th finger on the 1st string 2nd fret.
Chord Variations
Next we have a variation that is a little more difficult. It is played as a sort of barre chord on the second fret.
You bar the A, D, and G strings with your first finger. You then pick up the F# with the third finger and the D# with the pinky finger.
This 3rd variation of the B7 chord is played up on the 9th fret. It is an interesting voicing of the chord, but you aren’t likely to use this variation very much if you are a beginner.
This bassy sounding version of B7 is played at the 7th fret as a barre chord. It is like a B major barre chord with your pinky lifted off of the A string.
One last version that you may want to get familiar with is this one that is played on the 5th fret.
This chord shape is simple to make if you can get the whole step stretch of your first finger. Try it out!
