As the VA♭ major
- ii7B♭m7
- V7E♭7
- Imaj7A♭maj7
E♭7 is the chord that wants to resolve, so ending the loop on it hands straight back to the top.
E♭7 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The E♭7 chord is a dominant seventh chord built on the root note E♭. Its notes are E♭, G, B♭ and D♭. It's enharmonically the same chord as D♯7.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Dominant seventh chords sound tense and bluesy. The minor seventh on top of a major triad creates a pull toward a resolution, which is why this chord powers the blues and drives cadences in jazz and pop.
- Notes
- E♭ · G · B♭ · D♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 10
- Note
- E♭
- Quality
- Dominant 7
- Symbol
- E♭7
E♭7 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play E♭7 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on E♭, index finger on G, middle finger on B♭ and little finger on D♭. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard E♭, B♭ and D♭ are black keys and G is white. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- E♭1
- G3
- B♭5
- D♭♭7
E♭7 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, E♭7 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre at fret 6: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. Don't play string 6.
E♭ · G · B♭ · D♭
Try E♭7 on the virtual piano
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E♭7 chord notes
Also known as D♯7
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | E♭(Eb) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | G | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | B♭(Bb) | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | D♭(Db) |
How to use the E♭7 chord
The E♭7 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a minor seventh. Start at the root E♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: E♭, G, B♭ and D♭. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Blues, jazz, funk and rock'n'roll all run on dominant seventh chords. They typically act as the V7 resolving back to the tonic, or carry a twelve-bar blues from end to end.
In major keys E♭7 is the V7 in A♭ major; in minor keys it's the VII7 in F minor and the V7 in A♭ minor. As the V7 of A♭ minor it takes its third, G, from the harmonic minor scale: the key's seventh degree, raised a half step.
How E♭7 differs from similar chords
E♭7 and E♭maj7 look alike on paper and sound opposite: the seventh of E♭7 is a whole step below the octave, the seventh of E♭maj7 only a half step. That minor seventh forms a tritone with the major third, the interval that makes E♭7 want to move on. E♭maj7 has no tritone, so it can rest.
Where E♭7 is used
A dominant chord wants to resolve. Its home is the V of a major key - and the I of a blues, where the pull never lets up.
As the I of a bluesE♭ major
The twelve-bar shape boiled down. The tonic is itself a dominant seventh, which is what makes it a blues.
As the V of a turnaroundA♭ major
The turnaround at the end of a chorus: E♭7 is the chord that sends it round again.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the E♭7 chord?
- The E♭7 chord contains E♭, G, B♭ and D♭ (Eb, G, Bb and Db in plain text).
- Is the E♭7 chord major or minor?
- E♭7 is a dominant seventh chord. Dominant seventh chords sound tense and bluesy. The minor seventh on top of a major triad creates a pull toward a resolution, which is why this chord powers the blues and drives cadences in jazz and pop.
- What key is the E♭7 chord in?
- In major keys E♭7 is the V7 in A♭ major; in minor keys it's the VII7 in F minor and the V7 in A♭ minor. As the V7 of A♭ minor it takes its third, G, from the harmonic minor scale: the key's seventh degree, raised a half step.
- How do you play E♭7 on piano?
- Place your fingers on E♭, G, B♭ and D♭ and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard E♭, B♭ and D♭ are black keys and G is white. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play E♭7 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. This one is a barre at fret 6: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. Don't play string 6.
- What is another name for the E♭7 chord?
- E♭7 is enharmonically equivalent to D♯7. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.