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The C7 chord on guitar: the dominant seventh that leads to F

C7 is a C major chord with one extra note, Bb. That note changes everything: a plain C can sit still, C7 wants to go somewhere, almost always to F. It is also the sound of the blues, where a seventh chord stops being a passing tension and becomes the home color. If you play the open C, the open C7 is one finger away.

C7 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: C dominant seventh
  • Symbol: C7
  • Notes: C, E, G, Bb
  • Where it belongs: V7 in F major, V7 in F minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
C7, open x32310 C E Bb C E without G The open C chord with the fourth finger adding Bb on the G string. No G in it, and it does not need one.
C7, shell 8x89xx C Bb E without G Just root, seventh and third: C, Bb, E. The lean voicing of blues and swing rhythm guitar.
C7, A shape barre x35353 C G Bb E G All four notes with C in the bass, at the third fret. The standard moveable C7.
C7, E shape barre 8 10 8 9 8 8 C G Bb E G C The E7 shape barred at the eighth fret: third finger on the A string, second finger on the G string.
C7, open x 3 2 3 1 0 · 3 2 4 1 · fingers
C7, shell 8 x 8 9 x x 1 · 3 4 · · fingers
C7, A shape barre x 3 5 3 5 3 · 1 3 1 4 1 fingers
C7, E shape barre 8 10 8 9 8 8

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

C7 on the neck: every C, E, G, Bb

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of C7: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still C7.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
2 - B
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
3 - G
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
4 - D
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
5 - A
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
6 - E
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E

How to play the open C7: x32310

Start from the open C chord and add the fourth finger on the G string at fret 3.

String Fret Finger Note Role
6 (low E)x--Not played
5 (A)33CRoot
4 (D)22EMajor third
3 (G)34BbMinor seventh
2 (B)11CRoot
1 (high E)open-EMajor third

The note to check is the Bb on the G string. The fourth finger has to come down on its tip, steeply enough to clear the B string below it. Pick the strings one by one: if the B string is dead, the fourth finger is lying on it.

Play x32010 then x32310 a few times. Three fingers never move, and you hear the Bb turn a resting chord into one that wants to move on.

Why C7 pulls toward F

In the key of F, C7 is the V7 chord. Two of its notes sit a half step from F major and lean into it: E rises to F, and Bb falls to A. Play C7, then F, and you hear that tension resolve. That is why a C7 in a song in C often announces a move to F, the IV chord.

Chords Shapes What to hear
C7, F x32310, 133211 The resolution itself: tension, then rest.
C, C7, F x32010, x32310, 133211 The seventh added on the way to F, one finger at a time.
Gm, C7, F 355333, x32310, 133211 The ii V I of F major.

If the full F barre is still hard, the F chord page has smaller shapes that work in all three lines.

C7 in the blues

In a blues in C, the I chord is often played as C7 instead of C, and it does not resolve: the seventh is the style. A twelve bar blues in C uses C7, F7 and G7, three dominant sevenths in a row, and none of them is expected to settle.

For that sound, the shell 8x89xx is the shape to learn: root on the low E, seventh on the D string, third on the G string. Three notes, no clutter. The same shape gives the other two chords of the blues: F7 at the first fret (1x12xx) and G7 at the third (3x34xx). One hand position, three chords.

C7, Cmaj7, Cm7: do not mix them up

Chord Notes Sound
C7 C, E, G, Bb Dominant: tense, bluesy, moves on
Cmaj7 C, E, G, B Soft, bright, can stay put
Cm7 C, Eb, G, Bb Minor, darker
C6 C, E, G, A Major, round, a resting chord

The mix-up that costs the most is C7 against Cmaj7: written "7" alone, the seventh is always Bb. Only "maj7" means B natural.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play a C7 chord on guitar?
The open version is x32310: play an open C chord and add the fourth finger on the G string at fret 3. Third finger on the A string at fret 3, second on the D string at fret 2, first on the B string at fret 1, high E open, low E silent.
What notes are in C7?
C, E, G and Bb: a C major chord plus the minor seventh, Bb. The open shape leaves out the G; C, E and Bb are what make it sound like C7.
What is the difference between C7 and Cmaj7?
C7 has Bb, Cmaj7 has B natural. Half a step apart, and opposite effects: C7 is tense and wants to move to F, Cmaj7 is soft and can stay where it is. On a chart, "C7" always means the Bb version.
Why does C7 lead to F?
C7 is the V7 chord of F major. Its E wants to rise a half step to F, and its Bb wants to fall a half step to A: those are two of the three notes of F major. When the chord resolves, the tension lets go.
Is there an easy C7 without a barre?
Yes, the open x32310 is the easy one. If the fourth finger struggles, practice the change from C (x32010) to C7 (x32310) slowly: three fingers stay where they are, and the fourth only drops onto the G string.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.