Bass · seventh
F♯7 Chord on Bass
F# Dominant 7th is F#, A#, C#, E — the 1-3-5-b7 pattern of a seventh chord. Here is the shape, the audio, and what usually goes wrong.
There is no open F#7 on bass — the single shape below is a barre, which is exactly why this chord trips people up. Take it slowly and check every string.
Start here — Root-3-5-b7 Shape (2nd fret)
Barre at fret 2 — harder to hold than an open shape, but movable: slide it and you have every other seventh chord.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: Root-3-5-b7 Shape (2nd fret) — barred at fret 2.
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
- Hotel CaliforniaEagleschorus — the turnaround
F#7 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 bass.
F#7 on Bass — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play F#7 on bass?
“Root-3-5-b7 Shape (2nd fret)” — which we rate intermediate — is the easiest F#7 shape on bass. Barre at fret 2 — harder to hold than an open shape, but movable: slide it and you have every other seventh chord. There is no open F#7 on bass, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.
What notes are in the F# Dominant 7th chord?
F# Dominant 7th is F#, A#, C#, E — 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.
What can I play instead of F#7?
The nearest stand-ins on bass that keep the same root are F#sus4, F#sus2, F#. 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 F#7 on other instruments?
Yes. F#7 is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on guitar, piano, ukulele, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind F#7
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.