E7 chord is an ever-popular choice across many genres of music and can be found both open and barre chord positions on a guitar fretboard.
Understanding different voicings of chords can add depth and variety to your songwriting and playing, and practicing switching between open and barre shapes can develop finger flexibility and muscle memory for smoother transitions when performing live.
Open E7
An E7 chord provides an excellent starting point when learning how to play chords and is intuitive enough for use across genres – particularly when accompanying vocalists or playing rhythm guitar parts.
Strumming open strings firmly is essential to producing the full sound that characterizes this chord shape. Vibrations from open strings enable bass and treble notes to resonate freely, producing a rich sound often associated with blues progressions.
As your skills advance, it is wise to explore other E7 voicings to expand your musical palette and increase fingering variety for this dominant 7th chord. Mastering various E7 fingerings can enrich your sound and enable more fluid fretboard navigation.
Barre E7
Add barre chords to your guitar voicing arsenal for some added texture in your playing, starting with this E7 barre chord which requires just two fingers and produces a rich tone suitable for various genres of music.
It takes the open E7 shape and moves it 12 frets up the neck, providing an enhanced tonality with its added barre. This versatile voice can be utilized in many scenarios; especially blues shuffle riffing.
This E7 barre chord, also known as an E dominant seventh chord or E dom 7, adds a bluesy flavor to music and can be found in popular genres such as rock, jazz and funk. Learning it will enable you to be an adaptable guitarist.
Drop Two E7
As an E7 chord player, mastering various voicings is crucial to playing across genres and musical styles – both solo or when accompanying other musicians.
Drop two voicings are created by shifting the second highest note in a four part chord to bass position (in this instance G). For instance, to create a drop two chord from a Cmaj7 chord with notes C E G B is to drop its second highest note down an octave into bass position (G).
This makes the chord less stretchy and easier to play, while also boasting a melodious quality for times that call for it. This unique voicing can add variety to your rhythm guitarist repertoire; particularly useful when backing singers or other guitar players who handle lead lines; also helpful when transitioning between different chords higher up the neck.
E7 Open Scale
The E dominant 7th chord is an essential tool in the guitarist’s toolbox, lending texture and tension to compositions across genres. By mastering its various voicings, musicians can expand their musical palette while more seamlessly traversing their fretboards.
The open E7 chord boasts a full sound due to unfretted vibrations from its low and high strings. This version of the chord can fit seamlessly into various musical styles; its bass notes on its bottom string can especially add flair.
A more advanced variant of the open E7 chord, known as the barre E7, uses A7 shape to bar all strings with your index finger for a distinct sound that requires adding pinky to string 2. It makes an excellent option for blues and rock music styles while it can also be applied in more minor triad-based progressions.