F♭7 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The F♭7 chord is a dominant seventh chord built on the root note F♭. Its notes are F♭, A♭, C♭ and E𝄫. It's enharmonically the same chord as E7.
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
- F♭ · A♭ · C♭ · E𝄫
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 10
- Note
- F♭
- Quality
- Dominant 7
- Symbol
- F♭7
F♭7 on piano
4 notes
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play F♭7 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on F♭, index finger on A♭, middle finger on C♭ and little finger on E𝄫. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard A♭ is a black key and F♭, C♭ and E𝄫 are white, the keys you'd normally call E, B and D. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- F♭1
- A♭3
- C♭5
- E𝄫♭7
F♭7 on guitar
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, F♭7 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre at fret 7: 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.
F♭ · A♭ · C♭ · E𝄫
Play F♭7 on the online piano
Free, in your browser: play with the mouse, your computer keyboard or a USB MIDI keyboard. No sign-up.
F♭7 chord notes
Also known as E7
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | F♭(Fb) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | A♭(Ab) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | C♭(Cb) | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | E𝄫(Ebb) |
How to use the F♭7 chord
The F♭7 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a minor seventh. Start at the root F♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: F♭, A♭, C♭ and E𝄫. 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.
How F♭7 differs from similar chords
F♭7 and F♭maj7 look alike on paper and sound opposite: the seventh of F♭7 is a whole step below the octave, the seventh of F♭maj7 only a half step. That minor seventh forms a tritone with the major third, the interval that makes F♭7 want to move on. F♭maj7 has no tritone, so it can rest.
Where F♭7 is used
No progression is shown for this spelling
Every key F♭7 would have a function in has a tonic that needs a double accidental, which is not a key this library teaches. The enharmonic spelling carries the same chord in a key that exists.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the F♭7 chord?
- The F♭7 chord contains F♭, A♭, C♭ and E𝄫 (Fb, Ab, Cb and Ebb in plain text).
- Is the F♭7 chord major or minor?
- F♭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.
- How do you play F♭7 on piano?
- Place your fingers on F♭, A♭, C♭ and E𝄫 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 A♭ is a black key and F♭, C♭ and E𝄫 are white, the keys you'd normally call E, B and D.
- How do you play F♭7 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. This one is a barre at fret 7: 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 F♭7 chord?
- F♭7 is enharmonically equivalent to E7. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.