How to Build E7 Chords on the Guitar

The E7 chord is a little more advanced than some others. Beginners on guitar may know that in E major and E minor, you take the first, third and fifth scale notes to form the chord, but the E7 may be new to you. The difference in E7 is that we add a flattened seventh. Here are two variations of E7 that are pretty much interchangeable, using our "open" form of the E7 chord.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Leave the bottom string open. That's E, the first or "base" of the chord. We need it for any E chord.

2. Put your index finger on the second fret of the A string (second string from bottom). Here is a B note, which is your fifth note on the scale.

3. Keep the D string (third string from bottom) open again. For E major, you would add a finger on the second fret of that string to repeat the first note, but for E7, you want the seventh note (D#) flatted, and that gives us a D note.

4. Place your middle finger on the first fret of the B string (fourth string from bottom) to add G#, the regular third of the chord.

5. Choose a note on the B string. When it comes to the B string, the second string from the top, you have two choices. You can add another fifth, B, by leaving the string open, or you can add another flattened seventh, a D, by putting your ring finger or pinkie on the third fret.

6. Let the top string, E, open for yet another E note.

Tips & Warnings

• Play both variations of your E7 back to back to see which you prefer. Like many chords, the E7 changes its flavor according to which notes you choose to emphasize; knowing the differences between E7 chords and their related E chords gives you a better basis to pick chord variations from when you're writing songs.