Learn the basics of Blues music, including open Dominant 7th chords, and playing the 12-bar blues progression.

Note: If you have not viewed the lesson on open chords, it is highly recommended you do so before going through this course.

Dominant 7th Chords 

Dominant 7th chords create a very unique sound that is often found in blues, country, classical, and jazz music. The dominant 7th chord is constructed from a major chord, which contains the Root, 3rd, and 5th of the Major Scale. A review of major and minor chords can be found in Lesson 1: What Are Chords? in the Open Chords Course.

The formula for a dominant 7th chord is the Root, 3rd and 5th of the major scale combined by lowered 7th degree of the major scale. For example, in the key of C major, the 7th note is B, so a lowered 7th would be the note Bb. Therefore, the C7 chord contains the notes C, E, G, and Bb. 

The C Dominant 7th (C7) Chord

The C Dominant 7th (C7) chord contains the 3rd fret of the 5th string (C), the 2nd fret of the 4th string (E), the 3rd fret of the 3rd string (Bb), the 1st fret of the 2nd string (C), and the open 1st string (E).

How to Play the C7 Chord

• Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the 5th string.

• Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string.

• Place your 4th finger on the 3rd fret of the 3rd string.

• Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 2nd string.

The G Dominant 7th (G7) Chord

The G dominant 7th (G7) chord contains the 3rd fret of the 6th string (G), the 2nd fret of the 5th string (B), the open 4th string (D), 3rd string (G), 2nd string (B) and the 1st fret of the 1st string (F). The notes in our G7 chord are G,B,D, and F.

How to Play the G7 Chord

1. Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the 6th string.

2. Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string.

3. Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 1st string.

Moving Between Chords: C7 and G7

With each new chord that we learn, start practicing switching between the chords by strumming whole notes at 60bpm. The goal with these exercises is to play in time but allow for a substantial amount of time to learn to switch the chord and stay in time with the metronome.

It is very important to move from the lowest string to the highest string, so you should always place the lowest note of the chord down first and work up the strings from there. 

When comfortable switching chords using whole notes, try to move on to the next exercise using half notes, which are strummed every two beats.

Finally, we will practice our main goal, which is to switch chords effectively and repeatedly while strumming quarter notes in the right hand.

All of the exercises below should be played with downstrokes only. 

The A Dominant 7th (A7) Chord

The notes in our A dominant 7th (A7) chord are A, C#, E, and G. The A7 chord contains the open 5th string (A), the 2nd fret of the 4th string (E), the open 3rd string (G), the 2nd fret of the 2nd string (C#) and the open 1st string (E). . To form the A7 Chord:

 How to Play the A dominant 7 (A7) Chord

1. Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string.

2. Place your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 2nd string.

The E Dominant 7th (E7) Chord

The notes in the E dominant 7th (E7) chord are E, G#, B, and D.The E7 chord contains the open 6th string (E), the 2nd fret of the 5th string (B) the open 4th string (D), the 1st fret of the 3rd string (G#), and the open 2nd string (B) and 1st string (E).

How to Play the E Dominant 7th (E7) Chord

1. Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string.

2. Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 3rd string. 

Moving Between Chords: E7 and A7

With each new chord that we learn, start practicing switching between the chords by strumming whole notes at 60bpm. The goal with these exercises is to play in time but allow for a substantial amount of time to learn to switch the chord and stay in time with the metronome.

It is very important to move from the lowest string to the highest string, so you should always place the lowest note of the chord down first and work up the strings from there. 

When comfortable switching chords using whole notes, try to move on to the next exercise using half notes, which are strummed every two beats.

Finally, we will practice our main goal, which is to switch chords effectively and repeatedly while strumming quarter notes in the right hand.

All of the exercises below should be played with downstrokes only. 

The D Dominant 7th (D7) Chord

The D Dominant 7th (D7) chord contains the notes D, F#, A, and C. The D7 chord contains the open 4th string (D), the 2nd fret of the 3rd string (D), the 1st fret of the 2nd string (C), and the 2nd fret of the 1st string (F#). The 5th and 6th strings are not played in the D7 chord.

 How to Play the D Dominant 7th (D7) Chord

1. Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string.

2. Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 2nd string.

3. Place your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 1st string

The B Dominant 7th (B7) Chord

The B Dominant 7th (B7) chord contains the notes B, D#, F#, and A The B7 chord contains 2nd fret of the 5th string (B), the 1st fret of the 4th string (D#), the 2nd fret of the 3rd string (A), the open 2nd string (B), and the 2nd fret of the 1st string (F#). The 6ht string is not played in the B7 chord.

 How to Play the B Dominant 7th (B7) Chord

1. Place your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string.

2. Place your 2nd finger on the 1st fret of the 4th string.

3. Place your 4th finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string.

4. Place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the 1st string.

Moving Between Chords: D7 and B7

With each new chord that we learn, start practicing switching between the chords by strumming whole notes at 60bpm. The goal with these exercises is to play in time but allow for a substantial amount of time to learn to switch the chord and stay in time with the metronome.

It is very important to move from the lowest string to the highest string, so you should always place the lowest note of the chord down first and work up the strings from there. 

When comfortable switching chords using whole notes, try to move on to the next exercise using half notes, which are strummed every two beats.

Finally, we will practice our main goal, which is to switch chords effectively and repeatedly while strumming quarter notes in the right hand.

All of the exercises below should be played with downstrokes only. 

Dominant 7th Chord Review

The 12-Bar Blues and Dominant 7th Chords 

The 12-bar blues progression is a common musical form that is found primarily in traditional blues music as the name implies but has made it way into country and rock and roll as well. “Blues” music as a genre relies heavily on the use of Dominant 7th chords, and hundreds of popular songs are based on the “12-bar blues progression.” While the 12-bar blues progression largely stays the same, the keys can vary drastically from song to song. Now that we know how to play several common dominant 7th chords, we can learn the 12-bar blues progression in a variety of keys. 

The 12 bar blues progression uses 3 chords. Each chord is a certain distance apart from each other and is based on the major scale. Each chord of our 12-bar blues will use the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the major scale as the roots for our dominant 7th chords. For example, in the key of G major, my 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale are G, C, and D respectively.  

To understand the placement of the root notes within the key, we use Roman Numerals to refer to the chords within the key. A chord based on the Root would be represented by the roman number “I” while a chord that is derived from the 4th note in the scale. would be represented by the roman numeral “IV.” Note the Major chords will have Uppercase numerals, and the Minor chords will have Lowercase numerals. 

This means that in the key of G, the root of the “1” chord is G, the root of the “IV” chord is C, and the root of the “V” chord is D. When they are played as dominant 7th chords (as would be appropriate in the Blues), the resulting chords would be the G7, C7, and D7 chords.

Using the chords from this lesson, the 12-bar blues progression can be played in 4 different keys: G major, D major, A major, and E major. The table below shows us how each of these keys uses each of the dominant 7th chords from this course.

Now that we understand how our chords relate to the root notes of our keys, we can play the 12-bar blues progression in each of these four keys. In the example below, you will see the form of the 12-bar blues in Roman numerals, by playing the correct chords for the corresponding Roman numerals, you can play this progression in the keys of G, D, A, and E. Be sure to practice this progression in all four keys, and memorize the sequence of the progression before moving on. 

The 12-Bar Blues in the Key of G

The 12 bar blues progression uses 3 chords. Each chord is a certain distance apart from each other and is based on the major scale. Each chord of our 12-bar blues will use the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the major scale as the roots for our dominant 7th chords. For example, in the key of G major, my 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale are G, C, and D respectively.  

Practice this 12-bar blues progression in the key of G, and memorize the sequence of the progression before moving on to the next key. Choose any strumming pattern you choose for this progression, and review the strumming basics course for examples of potential strumming patterns for the right hand.

The 12-Bar Blues in the Key of D

The 12 bar blues progression uses 3 chords. Each chord is a certain distance apart from each other and is based on the major scale. Each chord of our 12-bar blues will use the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the major scale as the roots for our dominant 7th chords. For example, in the key of D major, my 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale are D, G, and A respectively.  

Practice this 12-bar blues progression in the key of G, and memorize the sequence of the progression before moving on to the next key. Choose any strumming pattern you choose for this progression, and review the strumming basics course for examples of potential strumming patterns for the right hand.

The 12-Bar Blues in the Key of A

The 12 bar blues progression uses 3 chords. Each chord is a certain distance apart from each other and is based on the major scale. Each chord of our 12-bar blues will use the 1st, 4th, and 5th notes of the major scale as the roots for our dominant 7th chords. For example, in the key of A major, my 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale are A, D, and E7 respectively.  

Practice this 12-bar blues progression in the key of G, and memorize the sequence of the progression before moving on to the next key. Choose any strumming pattern you choose for this progression, and review the strumming basics course for examples of potential strumming patterns for the right hand.

The 12-Bar Blues in the Key of E

The 12 bar blues progression uses 3 chords. Each chord is a certain distance apart from each other and is based on the major scale. Each chord of our 12-bar blues will use the 1st, 4th, and 5th notes of the major scale as the roots for our dominant 7th chords. For example, in the key of E major, my 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale are E, A, and B respectively.  

Practice this 12-bar blues progression in the key of G, and memorize the sequence of the progression before moving on to the next key. Choose any strumming pattern you choose for this progression, and review the strumming basics course for examples of potential strumming patterns for the right hand.