Julie Swihart

Seventh Chords

Let’s look at how to play a B7 chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for playing any other seventh chord.

What Are Seventh Chords?

Seventh chords are major chords, with an added note. The added note is the seventh note of the matching major scale, lowered 1/2 step.

Major chords are built using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale (learn how to build a major scale here). So to convert a major chord into a seventh chord, we’ll add the seventh note of the matching major scale, lowered 1/2 step.

Chord Types Printable

Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 34-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note (C, D, E, etc.) and type (major, minor, augmented, diminished, etc.).

Get the Printable

How to Play a B7 Chord

To build a B7 chord, we’ll start by building a B major chord. We can build a B major chord using the first, third and fifth notes of the B major scale: B – D♯ – F♯

Then we’ll add the seventh note of the B major scale, lowered 1/2 step: A

So to play a B7 chord, we’ll play:

B – D♯ – F♯ – A

We can use this pattern to build any other seventh chord. We can first build a major chord, then we can add the seventh note of the matching major scale, lowered 1/2 step.

Chord Fingering

If this chord is played with the right hand, you can play it using fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 (thumb’s are 1’s). If played with the left hand, you can use fingers 5 – 3 – 2 – 1.

Other Seventh Chords

Since there are different types of seventh chords, it can help to compare their differences:

Seventh chords are major chords with an added note. The added note is the seventh note of the matching major scale, lowered 1/2 step.

So a B7 chord is: B – D♯ – F♯ – A

Major seventh chords are major chords with an added note. The added note is the seventh note of the matching major scale.

So a Bmaj7 chord is: B – D♯ – F♯ – A♯

Minor seventh chords are minor chords with an added note. The added note is the seventh note of the matching major scale, lowered 1/2 step.

So a Bm7 chord is: B – D – F♯ – A

Conclusion

Now you know how to play a B7 chord on the piano, and you can use this pattern to build any other seventh chord!

Seventh chords are one of the more common chord types you’ll run into, so knowing how to build them is helpful. And using chords to play the piano is a wonderful way to enjoy music!