How to Play the B7 chord on Guitar

Navigation:

• Introducing the B7 chord
• How to play a B7 chord on the guitar
• Moveable form: B7 barre chord
• The easiest B7 chord voicing
• Related lessons & courses

    The finger configuration for this B7 chord voicing is a little tricky, but with a little patience, you can master it.

    Here are a few tips to help you master this tricky fingering faster:

• In the beginning, form the fingering shape slowly. Speed will come later.
• Decide on the order with which you will place your fingers. For example, you can always start at the top with finger 4, then add 3 and 2, and then place the 1st finger to form the complete voicing. You could also start with the 1st finger instead, or use whichever order is more convenient.
• Be consistent with the decided order. After you build muscle memory, forming the chord will happen automatically and almost instantly. But the muscle memory-building process will take a lot longer if you do this differently every time.
• Move your fretting hand elbow away from your body to give your hand a more classically correct position. This will help with clarity.
• Make sure to use the very tips of your fingers to fret the notes, not the soft part. This allows you to create a better "arch" that helps avoid muting other strings so that all the notes can ring clearly.

    A note on "bar chords": The traditional spelling is "barre", but many times you will see it spelled as "bar". So a "Bm bar chord" and a "Bm barre chord" are actually the same thing. Don't let that throw you off 😉.

    Here is a moveable barre fingering that can be used for seventh chords in other keys:

    To use moveable chords effectively, you need to locate the notes on the fretboard really fast. I highly recommend that you get Fretboard Memorization Toolbox. It's a free mini-course that includes fun drills and musical challenges that will help you master the fretboard very quickly.

    Guitar players love shortcuts. A shortcut for quickly playing a B7 chord on the guitar, without the trouble of tough fingering shapes, is to use the minimal voicing in the diagram below.

    This voicing doesn't have a B as the lowest note. This means that it works perfectly if you are playing along to a band, where other instruments (usually the bass) take care of the low B.

     But if you are playing on your own, keep in mind that this fingering produces a thinner chord. In some cases that can be a problem. But it will still sound great in most songs and it includes most of the chord degrees (it's missing the 3rd). Plus it's extremely easy to play on the guitar! 

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