How to Play the C7 Chord: Easy, Medium, Hard

Ah, the C7 chord. It’s full of tension, but in a beautiful way. It’s jazzy, but it fits into the blues, rock, pop, and so many other genres. This chord, like all other dominant seventh chords, is versatile and injects flavor into chord progressions that have become a little stale.

It’s true, the C7 guitar chord can be tricky to play, but there are versions that will work well and sound great for beginners too. No matter where you’re at in your guitar journey, you’ll find a version that will let your creativity flow.

C7 Guitar Chord Theory

While music theory isn’t strictly necessary for guitarists, depending on your views anyway, I believe some music theory never goes amiss. Knowing how the chords are constructed can only help you creatively.

There are different types of seventh chords:

• Dominant seventh chords
• Major seventh chords
• Minor seventh chords
• Half-diminished seventh chords
• Diminished seventh chords

As mentioned before, C7, and this goes for any time you see a chord with a 7 directly after it, is a dominant seventh chord.

What is a Dominant Seventh Chord?

A dominant seventh chord is a major-minor seventh. In other words, it’s a major chord triad with a minor seventh interval added on.

To help you understand why and how we get a C7 in particular, it’s helpful to look at the degrees of the scale, and at the diatonic seventh chords you get from the scale. C7 is in the key of F major.

Here is the F major scale with the interval/degree numbers:

F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

You may know that triad chords use intervals 1, 3, and 5. To make it a seventh, just add on interval 7.

The diatonic seventh chords according to the degrees of the major scale are as follows:

1. Major seventh
2. Minor seventh
3. Minor seventh
4. Major seventh
5. Dominant seventh
6. Minor seventh
7. Half-diminished seventh

These same diatonic chords work for regular major, minor, and diminished chords based on just intervals 1, 3, and 5. The exception is that the dominant is a major chord and the diminished doesn’t have the half-diminished part. This pattern is always the same for major scales. It differs for minor scales, but that’s a topic for another day.

Constructing the C7

So, the C is the fifth interval, and therefore if you turned it into a seventh, a dominant seventh chord.

C7 looks like this:

C, E, G, Bb

Note that the Bb is a minor interval.

To understand this better, let’s look at the C major scale. There is a whole step between the A and B according to how major scales are constructed:

C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

W W H W W W H

The W’s indicate that there is a whole step or tone between the notes, and the H indicates half steps or semitones between the notes. I included the 8th interval, which is an octave (8 notes) above the root or tonic note of the scale just so you can see.

Using the diatonic chords, the first degree or interval of the C major scale, I’ve demonstrated a Cmaj7. As you see, the B wouldn’t be flattened, it stays a major interval:

C, E, G, B

Now that you have that down, let’s move onto how to play the C7 guitar chord.

The C7 Guitar Chord: Easy

With these versions of C7, your fingers won’t look like they’re trying to play twister, and you won’t have to skip any strings that sit between other strings.

C7 Guitar Chord Version 1

This version will fit in with open chords played at the top of the neck. At first glance, it looks more difficult than it actually is. Once you try it, you’ll see it’s simply a C major open chord with your pinky thrown into the mix to add the seventh. You can mute the 6th string with your thumb.

How to Play C7 Version 1

• Index finger: 1st fret, 2nd string
• Middle finger: 2nd fret, 4th string
• Ring finger: 3rd fret, 5th string
• Pinky finger: 3rd fret, 3rd string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 2

Here’s another one that’s in more familiar territory.

How to Play C7 Version 2

• Index finger: 1st fret, 2nd string
• Middle finger: 2nd fret, 4th string
• Ring finger: 3rd fret, 3rd string
• Pinky finger: 3rd fret, 1st string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 3

If you’ve been playing the basic open chords, it might feel strange to go down to the 5th fret. But this is one of the easiest versions. You will need to barre 3 strings, but this is often easier for people learning how to barre strings than barring the entire fret straight off the bat.

You do need to skip strings 5 and 6, but you can do this using your thumb. If you can’t manage that, you’d be surprised how good you can get at avoiding certain strings with regular practice. Do it enough times and it becomes automatic.

How to Play C7 Version 3

• Index finger: Barre strings 2-4 in fret 5, alternatively, use your first three fingers, one per string
• Ring or pinky finger: 6th fret, 1st string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 4

This one may seem a bit tricky at first glance, but it’s essentially like playing C major with one extra note added in. This one is going to be a higher voicing given that it’s played so much lower on the neck. Worried about needing to stretch? The frets get smaller the lower you go, so you don’t need to stretch as much.

How to Play C7 Version 4

• Index finger: 8th fret, 1st string
• Middle finger: 9th fret, 3rd string
• Ring finger: 10th fret, 4th string
• Pinky finger: 11th fret, 2nd string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 5

This version may be in more familiar territory and works well with other open chords that stay in the first five frets.

How to Play C7 Version 5

• Index finger: Barre strings 1-3 in the 3rd fret
• Middle or ring finger: 5th fret, 4th string
• Ring or pinky finger: 5th fret, 2nd string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 6

This one is quite similar to version 2, just a few frets lower and your fingers swapped around slightly. This version works well over lower voicings of the chord to add that little something extra if you’re playing with other guitarists.

How to Play C7 Version 6

• Index finger: 12th fret, 1st string
• Middle finger: 13th fret, 2nd string
• Ring finger: 14th fret, 4th string
• Pinky finger: 15th fret, 3rd string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 7

If you enjoy the higher voicings, here’s another one. It looks a bit like the backward version of version 1, just in the 10th fret.

How to Play C7 Version 7

• Index finger: 10th fret, 4th string
• Middle finger: 12th fret, 3rd string
• Ring finger: 11th fret, 2nd string
• Pinky finger: 12th fret, 1st string

The C7 Guitar Chord: Medium

These versions of C7 are going to be a little trickier. But with consistent practice, you’ll be playing them with ease.

C7 Guitar Chord Version 8

This barre chord is based on the open A7 chord and only requires you to barre 5 strings. That said, you could also barre the 6th string which will give you an extra G which is in C7. So don’t stress too much if you struggle to barre only the 5. Even if you left the 6th string open and strum it by accident, you get an E. So no problem.

The only thing is if you’re picking or plucking the strings, it’s best to start from the 5th string to get that C root note.

How to Play C7 Version 8

• Index finger: Barre strings 1-5 in the 3rd fret
• Middle or ring finger: 5th fret, 4th string
• Ring or pinky finger: 5th fret, 2nd string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 9

Here’s another barre chord, this time with the root on the 6th string. It’s based on the open E7 chord.

How to Play C7 Version 9

• Index finger: Barre the entire 8th fret
• Middle finger: 9th fret, 3rd string
• Ring finger: 10th fret, 5th string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 10

This version is the same as version 9 but just with an extra Bb added in for some flavor.

How to Play C7 Version 10

• Index finger: Barre the entire 8th fret
• Middle finger: 9th fret, 3rd string
• Ring finger: 10th fret, 5th string
• Pinky finger: 11th fret, 2nd string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 11

This shape for C7 is like an open B7 chord, just with the root in the 3rd fret on the 5th string. You will need to skip two strings here, but you can angle your fingers to mute the 2nd string and use your thumb to mute the 6th.

If you can’t manage with your thumb, it’s not an issue since you’ll get an E with the open string. It’s just not how the chord is traditionally played. With the 2nd string, however, you’ll definitely need to mute it as that open string is a B and we know that C7 needs a Bb.

How to Play C7 Version 11

• Index finger: 2nd fret, 4th string
• Middle finger: 3rd fret, 5th string
• Ring finger: 3rd fret, 3rd string
• Pinky finger: 3rd fret, 1st string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 12

At first glance, you may be wondering why this version is under medium instead of easy… until you see the strings you need to mute. In all honesty, if I’m playing chords of this type, I usually prefer to use my fingers to pluck the strings which makes it easy-peasy. But if you prefer to strum, you’ll need to use your thumb and angle your fingers to mute the strings.

How to Play C7 Version 12

• Index finger: 2nd fret, 4th string
• Middle finger: 3rd fret, 6th string
• Ring finger: 3rd fret, 3rd string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 13

If you’re into jazz, when played with your fingers, although you can also strum or pick this chord with a plectrum as long as you mute the required strings, you’ll enjoy this jazzy chord.

How to Play C7 Version 13

• Index finger: 8th fret, 6th string
• Middle finger: 8th fret, 2nd string
• Ring finger: 9th fret, 4th string
• Pinky finger: 9th fret, 3rd string

C7 Guitar Chord Version 14

This version is also based on the shape that the open B7 chord uses, but with the root note in the 8th fret on the 6th string. So the whole chord is shifted over by one string.

How to Play C7 Version 14

• Index finger: 7th fret, 5th string
• Middle finger: 8th fret, 6th string
• Ring finger: 8th fret, 4th string
• Pinky finger: 8th fret, 2nd string

The C7 Guitar Chord: Hard

These last two versions of the C7 chord may not be considered hard by some people, but for people with smaller hands or less flexible joints, it can be quite something to get our fingers to form these chords. Just remember that flexibility, strength, and dexterity come with practice.

If you still find it a struggle after regular practice (and by that I mean at least a few weeks) to play these chords, don’t worry. There are plenty of other versions of C7 you can play that sound just as good.

C7 Guitar Chord Version 15

This version is the same as the previous version, but with an extra C that adds a beautiful high note to an already somewhat high voicing. The best way to play this is by barring strings 1 and 2 with your pinky.

How to Play C7 Version 15

• Index finger: 7th fret, 5th string
• Middle finger: 8th fret, 6th string
• Ring finger: 8th fret, 4th string
• Pinky finger: Barre strings 1 and 2 in the 8th fret

C7 Guitar Chord Version 16

This version requires some barring that shouldn’t be too hard for double-jointed guitarists with longer fingers. However, if you don’t have these convenient physical traits, angle your index finger flat and barre strings 1-4, and you should be able to play this chord too.

How to Play C7 Version 16

• Index finger: Barre strings 2-4 in the 5th fret
• Middle finger: 6th fret, 1st string
• Ring finger: 7th fret, 5th string
• Pinky finger: 8th fret, 6th string

Conclusion

There are many ways to play this versatile chord. You can let your creativity run free with whatever sound you’re creating with your chord progressions whether you’re a beginner, or at an intermediate or advanced level.

Use it as the fifth in a chord progression in the key of F. But remember, you don’t always need to stay strictly within a key. If you listen to jazz, you’ll hear how straying just out of the key can add complexity and nuance to a song in a beautiful way.

Practice consistently and have fun with the C7 guitar chord.