How to Play E7 on Piano

The E Dominant 7th chord sounds restless and bluesy. It stacks 4 notes: E – G# – B – D.

A major triad plus a flattened seventh. The tritone between its third and seventh is what makes it lean so hard toward the chord a fourth above.

Notes in E7

NoteIntervalFinger
EE4Root1
G#G#4Major 3rd2
BB4Perfect 5th3
DD5Minor 7th5

How to Play

Right Hand

Place your thumb (finger 1) on E. Use finger 2 on G#, finger 3 on B, and finger 5 on D.

Where it sits

One note of this chord (G#) is on black keys, so play it a little further back on the keys than an all-white shape.

Press all 4 keys at the same time. Keep your wrist relaxed and your fingers curved. The blue dots on the piano below show exactly which keys to press — they turn green when you play the right note.

Other Dominant 7th Chords

C7
C – E – G – Bb
Db7
Db – F – Ab – Cb
D7
D – F# – A – C
Eb7
Eb – G – Bb – Db
F7
F – A – C – Eb
F#7
F# – A# – C# – E
G7
G – B – D – F
Ab7
Ab – C – Eb – Gb
A7
A – C# – E – G
Bb7
Bb – D – F – Ab
B7
B – D# – F# – A

Other E Chords

E6
E – G# – B – C#
E9
E – G# – B – D – F#
E
E – G# – B
Em
E – G – B
Emaj7
E – G# – B – D#
Em7
E – G – B – D
Edim
E – G – Bb
Eaug
E – G# – B#
Esus2
E – F# – B
Esus4
E – A – B
Edim7
E – G – Bb – Db
Em6
E – G – B – C#
Eadd9
E – G# – B – F#