E7 piano chord — the keys, the inversions, the theory

E7 is a dominant seventh chord built from E, G#, B, D. Below: the keys to press, every inversion with its own diagram, the intervals it is made of, the keys whose scale contains it, and a progression that actually uses it. Press any diagram to hear it.

E7

E · G# · B · D

Piano keyboardC4C5

Semitones above the root: 0 – 4 – 7 – 10

A major third with a flattened seventh above it: unstable on purpose, and it wants to resolve a fourth up.

Inversions of E7

  • Root position

    E · G# · B · D · bass E

  • Inversion 1

    G# · B · D · E · bass G#

  • Inversion 2

    B · D · E · G# · bass B

  • Inversion 3

    D · E · G# · B · bass D

Same chord, different note at the bottom. Press a diagram to hear it — inversions are how you move between chords without jumping your hand across the keyboard.

Keys that contain E7

  • AV

In A it does this job: I – V – vi – IV

  1. A
  2. E7
  3. F#m
  4. D

Questions