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C Dominant 7th (C7)

Download MIDI
1+3+5+b7
C1E2G3Bb5
4 4

Notes in C Dominant 7th

C (root)EGBb

Inversions

Same notes as C Dominant 7th, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

C in the bass

C1E2G3Bb5

1st inversion

E in the bass (C7/E)

E1G2C5Bb4

2nd inversion

G in the bass (C7/G)

G1C3E5Bb2

3rd inversion

Bb in the bass (C7/Bb)

C2E3G5Bb1

Open voicings

A close-position chord like C Dominant 7th can sound cluttered in the middle of the keyboard. Jazz players open it up by dropping one note down an octave, spreading the same notes wider without changing the chord.

Drop 2

G on the bottom

G3C1E2Bb5

Drop 3

E on the bottom

E2C1G3Bb5

Play C, E, G and Bb together and you get C Dominant 7th.

A major triad with a minor seventh stacked on top, this is the workhorse chord of blues and functional harmony. Hiding between its third and seventh is a tritone, the same restless interval that gives the chord its itchy pull toward whichever chord sits a fifth below.

Related chords

CCm7C9C7#11

Difficulty: Intermediate. Category: Seventh chords. Click any highlighted key on the diagram above, or tab to it and press Enter, to hear that single note. Inversions mark the bass note with a contrasting outline.