E♭ dominant 7 (E♭7) — E♭, G, B♭, D♭ — is E♭ major with a minor 7th. The chord is the V7 of A♭ major and the I7 of E♭ blues. Big-band charts in A♭ use E♭7 constantly as the dominant; jazz blues in E♭ build on E♭7, A♭7, and B♭7 as the three primary chords.
Intervals
The Eb dominant 7 chord stacks two thirds on the root. Each interval and its size in semitones:
- Eb→Gmajor 3rd4 semitones
- G→Bbminor 3rd3 semitones
- Bb→Dbminor 3rd3 semitones
On the keyboard
Each note of the Eb dominant 7 chord highlighted on a piano. Pitch class is what matters — any octave works.
On the guitar
One voicing of the Eb dominant 7 chord on a six-string guitar fretboard.
- 1Eb
- 3G
- 5Bb
- ♭7Db
Common mistakes
E♭7 has D♭ as its 7th — a half-step lower than E♭maj7 (which has D natural). Reading D♭ as D natural produces E♭maj7 (a totally different chord function). On guitar, E♭7 is most often a 6th-fret A-shape barre with the 4th-string finger adjusted.
In context
E♭7 is the V7 of A♭ major (E♭7 → A♭maj7) and the I7 of E♭ blues. In ii–V–I cadences in A♭ major, the progression runs B♭m7 → E♭7 → A♭maj7. The chord is fundamental to big-band jazz and bebop standards in A♭ major.
Drill it
The Eb dominant 7 chord is one of 48 in the Chord Trainer. Open the full trainer to practice it alongside related chords with timing and best-time tracking.
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Frequently asked
- What notes are in an E♭7 chord?
- E♭7 contains four notes: E♭ (root), G (major third), B♭ (perfect fifth), and D♭ (minor seventh).
- How is E♭7 different from E♭maj7?
- Only the seventh changes. E♭7 has D♭ (minor 7th); E♭maj7 has D natural (major 7th). E♭7 wants to resolve to A♭; E♭maj7 sits stably as a tonic.
- What jazz standards use E♭7?
- Any tune in A♭ major or E♭ blues. "Misty" cadences through E♭7 → A♭maj7; "Stella by Starlight" uses E♭7 in multiple modulations. Big-band charts in A♭ rely on E♭7 as the primary dominant.
- How do you play E♭7 on guitar?
- Most commonly a 6th-fret A-shape barre: index across strings 5-1 on fret 6, ring finger on the 8th fret of the 4th string, middle finger on the 6th fret of the 3rd string, pinky on the 8th fret of the 2nd string.