urTuner

C7 Guitar Chord

C dominant seventh (C7) is made of the notes C E G B♭. Here are 3 ways to play it on guitar, starting with the easiest.

How to play C7 on guitar

  1. Shape 1

    Open position

    3 2 4 1 C E B♭ C E

    x32310

  2. Shape 2

    Barre at fret 3

    3fr 1 3 4 C G B♭ E G

    x35353

  3. Shape 3

    Barre at fret 8

    8fr 1 3 2 C G B♭ E G C

    8-10-8-9-8-8

Notes in C7

Formula 1 3 5 ♭7
DegreeNote
1C
3E
5G
♭7B♭

Shape 1 step by step

  1. Put your ring finger on string 5 at fret 3.
  2. Put your middle finger on string 4 at fret 2.
  3. Put your little finger on string 3 at fret 3.
  4. Put your index finger on string 2 at fret 1.
  5. Let string 1 ring open.
  6. Don’t play string 6.
  7. Strum from string 5 to string 1.

Shape 2 step by step

  1. Lay your index finger flat across strings 5 to 1 at fret 3.
  2. Put your ring finger on string 4 at fret 5.
  3. Put your little finger on string 2 at fret 5.
  4. Don’t play string 6.
  5. Strum from string 5 to string 1.

Tune your guitar first

A chord only sounds right when your instrument is in tune. Check your strings with the free online tuner before you practise. Open the guitar tuner

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the C7 chord?

C dominant seventh has the notes C E G B♭. Its formula is 1 3 5 ♭7. The numbers are steps of the major scale, counted from the root.

What is the easiest way to play C7 on guitar?

Start with shape 1 (open position), written as x32310 from string 6 to string 1. Here x means you don’t play that string and 0 means it rings open.

What is the difference between C7 and Cmaj7?

C7 has the notes C E G B♭, and Cmaj7 has C E G B. The only difference is that C7 has B♭ where Cmaj7 has B.

Dominant 7th chords in every key

More tuners

Music tools

Browse all 200 tuners & tools