Jimmy Page also put the B7 chord through its paces on Led Zeppelin’s “ You Shook Me,” originally recorded by blues legend Muddy Waters. When played beneath the very recognizable riff of the song (you instantly know it when you hear it!), it demonstrates how this bold chord lends a bluesy punch to the tune that’s become a staple of any rock guitarist’s repertoire.
The iconic “ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the equally iconic Rolling Stones incorporates the B7 chord alongside an E and A chord to provide the rhythmic backbone of the tune.
#B7 guitar chord trial
Feel like putting your knowledge of the B7 chord into practice? Unlock these song lessons below (and even more!) when you sign up for a free trial of Fender Play. From pop standards to old and new country songs to blues-tinted rock, the B7 chord can be heard in a variety of tunes.
The B7 chord’s bright, clanging tone lends itself to add punch to songs across a wide swath of genres. Signup to earn the B7 guitar chord open position (v1) in Fender Play. Strum five strings down from the A (5th) string, omitting your low E (6th) string.
Now that you understand more of the musical theory behind the construction of a B7 chord, it’s time to play it. However, if you take that A# down half a step (as called for by the 7th chord formula), you have an A note.Ĭombine B, D#, F#, and A together and you have a B7 guitar chord. In the B major scale, the 7th note is actually an A#. To turn that B major into a B7, you’d simply add in the 7th note of the B major scale flattened, or taken down a half-step. So, you would play your root note (B) along with the major 3rd (D#) and perfect 5th (F#) to give you a standard B major chord. Your root note (B) dictates the scale you’ll use to create a chord, using the standard major chord formula. That extra 7th note is what gives the B7 chord its melodic twang. Seventh chords, like the B7 chord, use a slightly different formula, adding a flattened 7th note of the B major scale to your standard major chord formula. When learning to play different chords, you may hear a lot about the formulas that comprise minor chords and major chords.
You’ll learn to play the chord and listen for it in popular music before trying your hand at playing it yourself. In this lesson, we’ll show you one way to play the B7 chord in an open position, learn about the notes that make up this chord, and show you a few songs that use the B7 chord. However, this bright, brash-sounding chord has found its way into many popular songs spanning a variety of genres - from country to blues-inflected classic rock. The B7 chord doesn’t necessarily spring to mind when you think of chords that get a lot of play in popular songs.