Dominant 7th Chord

The dominant 7th chord is built from the 5th note of the major scale. It is used in all types of music but they are the main chords in Blues music.

This chord also acts as a lead in for a chord change usually a 4th away like from a G7 to a C chord.

Below is an example of the C scale. The G is the 5th note in this scale.

If we take every other note after the G we will build a G7th chord.

G - B - D - F These are the notes that make up a G7th chord.

Every major scale has a dominant chord built on it's 5th note.

G Mixolydian Mode

The G mixolydian mode is the C major scale starting from the 5th note G. This scale along with others is used for improvising over dominant chords.

Dominant Chord Forms

Here are some common chord forms for this chord.

These chords are movable just move to the root note. On the first chord just play the 1st 4 strings.

Here is where the roots are for the above chords going from left to right.

Dominant chords can have other notes in them along with the 7th. Any chord that is built from the 5th note of the Major scale is a dominant chord including altered chords. They usually all have a flatted 7th.

If a chord name has a 7 after the note name it's a dominant chord. If it has a maj7 after it's not a dominant chord.

Dominant chords can be 9th, 11th and 13th chords too. Altered chords with a flatted 7th can also be considered dominant chords too.

Dominant Chords in Major Scales

Here is a list the keys and dominant chord for that key. The dominant 7th is always built from the 5th note of a Major scale. This is also true in the Harmonic and Melodic minor scales.

The F♯ and G♭ are the same pitch just spelled different for each key.

Dominant 7th Chords

Here are dominant 7th chords for all the major keys.

These chords are used a lot in all styles of music especially Blues music.

Most of these chords are movable just keep track of where the root notes are.