Banjo · seventh
E7 Chord on Banjo
E Dominant 7th is E, G#, B, D — the 1-3-5-b7 pattern of a seventh chord. There are 2 ways to play it on banjo, ranked below from easiest to hardest.
Good news: E7 has an open shape on banjo, so you can play it without barring anything. Start there and work up the neck later.
Start here — Standard E7
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
Easier ways to play it — 2 shapes, easiest first
Same chord in all of them. What changes is how much your hand has to do and where on the neck it sits.
Way 1 of 2
Standard E7
Easiest here· beginner· the standard shape
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
Way 2 of 2
Movable 7th Shape (9th fret)
intermediate
Sits at fret 9 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: Standard E7 — open position, so several strings ring unfretted.
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
Songs that turn on this chord
- HallelujahLeonard Cohenpre-chorus — the borrowed dominant
- House of the Rising SunThe Animalsverse — the dominant
- Can't Help Falling in LoveElvis Presleybridge — the borrowed dominant
E7 on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on banjo.
E7 on Banjo — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play E7 on banjo?
“Standard E7” — which we rate beginner — is the easiest E7 shape on banjo. Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
What notes are in the E Dominant 7th chord?
E Dominant 7th is E, G#, B, D — the 1-3-5-b7 interval pattern of a seventh chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
How many ways can you play E7 on banjo?
This page has 2 E7 voicings for banjo, ranked from easiest to hardest: Standard E7, Movable 7th Shape (9th fret). They all sound like E7; the differences are how hard they are to hold and how high they sit.
What can I play instead of E7?
The nearest stand-ins on banjo that keep the same root are Esus4, Esus2, E. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play E7 on other instruments?
Yes. E7 is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin.
Learn the theory behind E7
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.