Chord chart

C7 Chord on Guitar: 3 Easy Ways to Play C Seventh (Charts)

C7 chord charts with finger numbers, an easier version, the notes and intervals, and the keys and progressions that use it. Also searched as c7 chord, c7 guitar chord and how to play C7.

By David Sandy, guitar player and founder of Sandy Music Lab. Every chord shape on this page is checked note by note against the chord's formula.

C7 chord diagram, Open positionC7 Open position: low E muted, A fret 3, D fret 2, G fret 3, B fret 1, high e open.×3241x 3 2 3 1 0
Open position
x 3 2 3 1 0
C7 chord diagram, Barre (3rd fret, A-string root)C7 Barre (3rd fret, A-string root): low E muted, A fret 3, D fret 5, G fret 3, B fret 5, high e fret 3.×134x 3 5 3 5 3
Barre (3rd fret, A-string root)
x 3 5 3 5 3
C7 chord diagram, Easy 3-string versionC7 Easy 3-string version: low E muted, A muted, D muted, G fret 5, B fret 5, high e fret 6.5fr×××123x x x 5 5 6
Easy 3-string version
x x x 5 5 6

Numbers are fingers (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky, T thumb). × = don't play that string, ○ = play it open. A long bar is a barre: one finger flat across those strings. Strings run low E (left) to high e (right).

Chord chart by Sandy Music Lab

Quick answer: To play C7 (C seventh) on guitar, play x 3 2 3 1 0 from the low E string to the high e string (the open position shape). The chord contains C, E, G, Bb. If that is hard, use the easier shape x x x 5 5 6, which needs 3 fretted notes.

C7 chord facts

Chord C7 (C seventh)
Other names Cdom7
Notes C, E, G, Bb
Intervals C (root), E (major 3rd), G (perfect 5th), Bb (minor 7th)
Formula 1-3-5-b7
Difficulty Beginner (easy version) to intermediate (full shape)
Shapes on this page 3

How do you play C7 on guitar?

The main shape is x 3 2 3 1 0 (Open position). Finger by finger:

  1. Put your index finger (1) on the B string at fret 1 (C, the root).
  2. Put your middle finger (2) on the D string at fret 2 (E, the major 3rd).
  4. Put your ring finger (3) on the A string at fret 3 (C, the root).
  5. Put your pinky (4) on the G string at fret 3 (Bb, the minor 7th).